Not Without A Fight
by rookieD
Summary: co-written with dcj. (Multi-chapter fic, AU early Season 4). 'I knew from the start there was a force here to be reckoned with. And that's why even when you were down; I knew you were never out. What you want… have, is worth it, worth fighting for.'
1. Let's Get Ready to Rumble

_A/N Several weeks ago I started obsessing over all things boxing, and that the sport's analogies to Sam/Andy. To cut a very long story short. I tweeted something or other to the very awesome __**dcj**__ (aka dcjeffrey, if you're looking for her Twitter handle) that went a little something like this:_

_ME: Another boxing-fic idea! Andy v Marlo!_

_DCJ: 'Maybe charity match. Andy volunteers first, Marlo decides she wants to show who's boss, mark her territory'._

_To cut an even longer story shorter, here begins the end result of a collaboration that has now spanned over 200 pages and 90,000 words (excluding a whole bunch of tweets, messages, emails, comments etc etc) that have managed to keep one or the both of us off the 'Rookie Blue' ledge at various times._

_The fic itself takes place over a few days in our AU of early Season 4. (Apparently a LOT can happen in just a few days)._

_We hope you have as much fun reading as we have writing this thing. _

* * *

**Co-written **with** dcj**

**Disclaimer: We do not own Rookie Blue**

* * *

_**'Let's get ready to rumble!'**_

_"Rhythm is everything in boxing. Every move you make starts with your heart, and that's in rhythm or you're in trouble."—Sugar Ray Robinson_

* * *

Andy's standing up at the front of the room next to Frank, bright smiles for both up until a couple of seconds ago when Andy's might have lost a little lustre.

The hugs and handshakes and welcome backs are a couple weeks gone and past. Dakota sitting more like a regret than an accomplishment; a handful of his first words to her still echo in Andy's ear whenever she allows herself a moment of weakness, a passing thought, a fleeting glance –

_'I've been seeing someone. It's new.'_

_'You like her?'_

_'She's easy to bearound.' _

But she is not going to be weak, not now, not in front of everyone, especially not in front of him… or her. She looks straight ahead as her hands find their way to her hips.

Frank had mentioned the charity boxing match in parade yesterday, said he'd be looking for volunteers this morning. Girl's night, two bottles in, and Andy and Gail had it all worked out. They'd put a little bug in Dov's ear and let the games begin.

_Did you hear? Peck's gunning for McNally, wants some payback for kissing Collins for the better part of six months._

Except when Best asks for a second, a different volunteer jumps in, on their feet before Gail even opens her mouth, and getting in the way of Andy's perfect plan… again.

* * *

Sam stands up the back of the room, spine straight and stiff against the brickwork that's right near the door. He chews on his gum, gives the residual caffeine on his tongue a fresh burst of mint. His pulse-rate has been quick for a while, even though his brain reminds him '_it's over_,' the rest of his body is yet to catch up. Still. He's got this, refuses to give in to the doubts that McNally replanted two weeks ago –

_'You didn't wait?'_

_'You expected me to?'_

He watches McNally take on her tough-guy stance, flexing what looks to be a little extra muscle, and that smile… She looks good, never better in fact. She's better off without him. Her life is -

She appears confident, despite the fidgeting and avoidance of Sam's side of the room. He's pretty certain the rookies fixed this match-up; will have Peck or Nash step up to fight her. He briefly entertains the thought of putting his own hand up, let her beat him to a pulp.

It's only when he realizes who _has_ volunteered to be her opponent in the time he's been daydreaming that Sam considers he might actually need a pill for his heart.

He looks around slowly, tries to establish whether anyone else can hear the inside of his chest thumping. He wonders whether they can see the three beads of sweat that are currently working their way down his right temple.

The statement _'She's easy to be around,'_ makes a liar of Sam.

(Cruz knows some of the history, not all of it though. He can't even admit to _himself_ just how much in love with McNally...how heartbroken -)

Still, Marlo knows _enough_. He's not sure why she'd spoil the party the rookies seem to have planned –

He crosses his arms, frowns a little. He really doesn't like the thought of Cruz stamping her authority on McNally, if that's what this is.

Still…he guesses it might be…interesting…to see these two go toe to toe; see how they match up in a ring. He looks over at Andy, can't help the small smile that forms on his mouth.

The 'tough guy' stance is even more prominent than before; the smile's gone and she's leading with that sharp chin of hers now. The eyebrow is up too, reminding Sam of her juice-related preferences (amongst other things). And her _eyes._ Her eyes are a warning glare. Sam's pretty sure Marlo would be dead on the spot if looks could kill.

"Bring it." Sam's thoughts are interrupted by a snort out of the mouth of McNally.

Sam can't help himself; has to work pretty hard at holding in a proud laugh. He chews the inside of his cheek, has to look away from her. This is ridiculous. He really, really cannot let himself get caught up in all this –

He made a vow to himself two weeks ago: He needs to stay focused, keep moving _forward_ with life.

For starters, he wants to put a stamp on his new job, focus on being a solid detective, it's time to take on the challenges and opportunities that aren't available to uniforms or UC ops. And he's still learning some of the ropes.

He cannot afford to get… distracted. Knows how easy it would be to let that happen, especially now that she's here… within reach.

He _can't_ do it. Doesn't want either of them to be that...broken...again.

_'No going back.'_

When Sam turns away, he doesn't get the outlook that is the fresh one he needs right now. What he sees is one that is a little too familiar; an old dog that knows too many tricks. It's Oliver watching him closely, chin in his palm and a shit-eating grin on his face.

Sam scowls. He really doesn't need his buddy butting in at every twist and turn of his life. He's already copped one too many lectures over this past 6 months or so. He gives Shaw half an eyeroll, pulls his arms a little tighter to his chest, and shifts around on his perch so he can put both McNally and Shaw behind him –

Unfortunately, that throws him right into Marlo's sights, and from the looks of things; she's been expecting him…for a while now.

She lifts an inquiring brow as his mind blindly searches for the best possible response. He's been working especially hard at his campaign for this past two weeks –

_'It's in the past.'_

He's had six months to accept it, actually thought he had. Does not relish the idea of starting all over again.

* * *

_It took him two weeks before he could even convince himself that she had walked away. Just about wore out the heavy bag when it finally sunk in – his chance was gone. Went home exhausted almost every night, but he figured that was a whole lot better than drunk and bitter._

_When the idea of becoming a detective came up, he actually surprised himself by taking it seriously. Told himself she made the choice to pursue job opportunities so why shouldn't he. If she could move on to bigger and better things, maybe he should too. So he threw himself into the course and into his work; he was going to __**show her. **_

_He made himself so busy that he didn't have to think about what was missing, who was missing. He was moving on. _

_Except when they gave him that gold shield in parade that morning, the first face he looked for was hers. _

**_Show her_**_…_

_Yeah right. _

_The celebratory drinks at the Penny didn't go down as smoothly as he had planned; he may have commiserated with a few more alone once he got home. _

_The next morning he went for a run, blinding headache and all. He'd woken up with the decision hanging heavy; he could wallow and pine, or he could keep moving. Figured the former didn't work out so great on previous occasions, so move it would be. Regular morning runs was a start._

_It wasn't long after he moved up to the D's office that Cruz came along to take the spot as a T.O. and new drinking companion. With no Jerry, and Oliver spending more time at home, Marlo became good company. She was friendly, and genuinely interested in Sam –_

_'It's hard to make friends in this business, Swarek. That's why we tend to stick with our kind.'_

_A few drinks out, a couple of movies, the odd pizza; for the first time in months and months, Sam felt like he had some sort of social life._

_She was happy with easy and casual, no questions asked._

* * *

He's not even sure when the 'casual' became a little more 'regular', but that's where it's at...

He nods reassuringly, more to himself than Cruz. Thinks he's getting good at it proving his efforts. Attentive – check. Affectionate – check. Supportive…

He decides to fall back on his go-to, flashes her the dimples and then follows it up with a wink and a nod. He can't tell if it's done the trick though because Best calls her out right then, summons her up to stand beside him and McNally.

Sam drags his eyes slowly towards the front, takes the long way around, a little afraid of what might be waiting for him.

He ignores the grin Oliver's still got going while carefully avoiding the eyes that appear to be cataloguing his every move… and there are a lot of them. His jaw clenches when money already starts to change hands. When he finally lifts his eyes, he decides Best is the safest choice to focus on.

* * *

Sam's relief is short-lived though, 'safe' is not exactly what the boss looks like right now. In fact, Sam's unsure of the last time he may have seen Frank so…beside himself with excitement?... (Well, except for the birth of his child).

Best's eyes have gone shiny at the sight of the money, and he's flashing one hell of a grin. He looks between the two women in front of him eagerly, drills some holes with his stare. "I'm counting on you two to put on a good show."

"Yes, sir," Andy nods, standing to attention like she might've got some training from GI Joe while they were UC.

Cruz just stands there, a wry smirk on her face. She looks Andy's form up and down a couple of times. "As long as you don't mind your shows a little short."

Sam's eyebrows shoot up. He's mildly impressed that Marlo's that sure of herself, but then he feels his head shaking…she has no idea of how determined and persistent McNally is. How quick and strong -

How stubbornly hard she is to knock off her feet.

Sam feels a couple of slaps on his shoulder, hears Ollie chuckle right near his ear. "I dunno about _you_, brother. But I know where _my_ money will be."

Sam keeps his eyes glued to the front. If this were anybody else, he'd be all over it like a dirty shirt, side bets with Oliver and anyone else who would take 'em, but as it stands he thinks it might be best to keep his wallet, and his mouth shut.

* * *

As the room starts to clear out, Andy pauses, waits until Traci drags Dov out the door, turns to her competition, squares up her bony shoulders and thrusts out her hand. "May the best woman win," she offers with only a mild undercurrent.

Marlo huffs out a breath, latches on to McNally's hand with the grip of a trucker. "Oh I intend to. You signed up for dental?"

Andy's eyes flash wide before she narrows her gaze. "You do realize this is for charity right?" She remembers last year; Chris came out of it without even a scratch.

"Boss said he wants a show," Marlo shrugs, "I intend to give him one, and anyone else who might need convincing."

Andy doesn't miss the pointed glance back at Sam, tells herself she should probably just walk away… but if those six months UC taught her anything, it's to stop jumping into things blindly. "You making this personal?"

Marlo almost cackles. "Please, it's been nothing BUT personal with you since you got back."

(She can recall clearly McNally's first week after Dakota. It's like she had no idea where the lines were, still doesn't.

First day back and she's somehow got Sam riding next to her, even got him shot at… and _still_ talked him into a ride to the Penny the next night.

She knows for a fact that Sam told her about the two of them that night, well she's pretty sure – she could tell by the way McNally pouted for the rest of the evening. And then the girl spent the better part of the week staring at Swarek when she thought no one was looking… still does. Marlo tries not to think about the time or two she might have caught Sam staring back.)

"Not even a week in and you were already throwing a fit when Sam took my side." It was Andy's third day back; Best had them paired together. And of course… _of course,_ they disagree on tactics. Marlo lifts a hand to stop what she knows will be the next words out of McNally's mouth. "Whether I was right or wrong doesn't matter; you need to respect the chain of command, recognize that some of us have more experience than you do."

She bears down on McNally. "Maybe if you didn't call all the senior officers by their first names you might be able to keep it professional. How you got Shaw to chase you down and beg you to come back to the Penny, I'll never know," she mutters to herself afterward.

Andy really cannot believe it. (First of all, that happened after hours… and she was hurt… and … the talk with Sam definitely did not go as planned… and there was no way she felt like going for a drink, didn't need anyone to see just how broken she was after Sam told her he couldn't go back. But Oliver… how do you say no to the man?

She was hurt and crying, and yes he came out for her, but she never asked him to. He found her and brought her back to the Penny because he's her friend; he has her back. It doesn't mean she doesn't respect him. It just means he cares; they both do. And seriously, if the woman knew anything about Oliver, she would know that the only time it takes force to _get_ Oliver to do something is when you're trying to STOP him from sticking his nose in.)

Andy swallows her tongue for a second. She's trying to be the bigger person here, has actually been making a concerted effort to avoid any and all situations that put her anywhere near Sam or Cruz… but especially Sam. The temptation… is just too strong. She still wants him, can't help it; it's like this deep-rooted need.

But she made a promise to herself. And despite the one disastrous shift that Frank chose to pair her with Cruz, she's actually succeeded. Ducks out of the Penny early, ends each night with her new mantra…

_If you love something, set it free… _

God she wishes he would come back, but she wants him to want to, and no matter what Marlo might think she won't force his hand. Wants him to figure it out on his own. "You challenged me remember?"

"Thought it might be a good chance to show you what I'm all about. Maybe you might even learn a thing or two about respecting boundaries."

When Marlo's eyes dart to Sam of their own accord, Andy rolls hers and then steps right into Cruz's personal space.

"I've done nothing BUT respect the boundaries, can't miss them actually," (the woman's practically pissed all around Sam's office); "but if you're worried about me getting too close to your bo-undaries, think there's a fight here somewhere, that's on you."

Andy doesn't wait for her to respond. She flips on her heel, spies her partner at the back of the room smirking at his best friend. "Oliver!"

Oliver jumps up from his perch next to Sam, almost skips to catch up with her. He might as well have a towel draped over his shoulders the way he starts rubbing at hers like he's Mickey the trainer. "I'm with you champ!"

* * *

Sam's eyes follow his best friend and McNally out of the room. If he wasn't feeling unsettled before, he is now. He can't quite put his finger on the exact source of the problem. All of his faculties are waging their own internal battle - head, heart, and gut.

He's about to stand up and follow what he thinks could be the instinct of all three, when he feels Marlo's small but strong hand clutch at his wrist –

"Hey," he smiles down at her, feeling a little caught out about where he may have been headed. And because he's curious; "didn't know you liked boxing?"

She winks up at him, gives him a grin. "Well, that's because you've still got a lot left to learn about me..."

Sam's head spins just enough for him to recognize the physical symptoms he normally responds with when similar lines have been delivered to him before –

He practically chokes. Some mild panic and nausea set in as well.

He knows exactly what the problem is here: 'Regular' doesn't generally stay just...'casual regular' for very long; 'Regular' becomes 'regular with expectations'...

He grits his teeth and attempts another grin despite the constriction in his throat and his veins.

Cruz grins up at him baring her teeth, eyes smiling and by all appearances without a care in the world. "See you for lunch." She reaches up and gives him a peck on the cheek. Sam recognizes the proposal wasn't an invitation per se when she doesn't wait for a response –

The tiny brunette just taps at his ass and walks out of the pit.

Sam reaches into his pocket, digs deep for fresh gum.

* * *

Sam looks at his watch a few minutes later; experiences some mild palpitations when his phone alerts him to a text from Cruz that states she forgot to ask him what time, and where to meet him for food later.

He puts his thumb over the centre of the keypad, deliberates about how best to respond. He's not –

He's not,_ not _wanting to see her during their shift. He _does_ enjoy her company. Enjoys her easy smile, common interests, her no-nonsense take on policing and life. She's attractive and funny, bright…

Doesn't ask too many questions –

Doesn't really give too many answers herself.

And unlike every time Sam's around McNally, when he's with Cruz, he doesn't feel like there's a bomb about to go off.

Still. He _has_ noticed Marlo's been pushing a couple of extra buttons this past couple of weeks. Getting into his 'space' a little more often, encouraging him to talk about 'feelings', that type of thing…

He briefly considers telling Nash they need to go out and do some scouting right now. Make himself busy. Raincheck with Cruz. Except then there's a knot in his stomach, concern that if he doesn't pay attention to her now, she'll want them to do something tonight….

And it's just…Well. Sam had plans to catch up with Oliver at the Penny, didn't he? Check in with his good buddy on how things were at home.

At the end of his eight-minute deliberation, Sam replies to Cruz with the compromise that's managed to churn through the web of his mind:

_Bring take-out back here? Paperwork to do_.

* * *

Andy's first goal is to get coffee…stat. But Oliver has other ideas, uses the hands still on her shoulders to steer her towards the exit.

Andy looks back at the machine like she's leaving her first born on the first day of school. "But, I…"

"Nothin' doin, killer, we're going out for our breakfast," Oliver announces, bounding forward to fall into step beside her. "We need to bulk you up. Can't have you skippin' the most important meal of the day."

How he knew she skipped it she'll never know. "The fight's in two days," she reminds him, doubts anything's going to change in that time.

"Doesn't matter, we gotta whip you into shape."

Andy stops dead in her tracks, pulls her chin back and blinks a few times in disbelief. It takes Oliver a few steps before he realizes he's on his own. When he turns, she's got one hip jutted out and her arms are woven tightly across her chest. She takes a pointed peek down at Oliver's belly, cops a brow when she looks back up.

"Hey, I'm a lover not a fighter." He grins, digs his hands in his pockets. Any moment now Andy's convinced he'll just go ahead and pull out some bacon and eggs.

"Oh yeah," Andy agrees taking a drink of the kool aid, "Make love, not war."

Oliver raises his hand to the heavens. "Preachin' to the choir McNally. Now let's get out of here so I can show you the way to a man's heart."

Andy's indulgent laugh is what greets Sam when he emerges from the parade room. She's got her arm around Oliver as they head out the back door. Sam waits 'til the door completely closes behind them before he turns toward his office; it's not that far away… it just _feels_ like it is. Sam checks his pocket, reminds himself to hit the vending machine for another pack of gum.

* * *

When they get to the diner, Oliver insists she comes in - even when she insists she's not hungry. Her stomach's been doing flips since they left the station and the potential consequences of the last hour aren't sitting well.

She waits for Oliver at the door. Burrito's half gone by the time he gets to her. They're already on the street when he holds his hand out. Andy reaches into her pocket without a word, hands him a napkin, can never understand how he always manages to forget. Smiles a little though because it's nice that some things haven't changed.

Oliver starts up the car. "You hitting the gym tonight," he wonders, taking a quick check over his left shoulder before he pulls out.

"Oliver, it's for charity," she moans, has a feeling that she's going to have to add that mantra to her repertoire.

Oliver knows it's for charity, he's been around a while, even participated once or twice himself. But he also saw the look in Cruz' eye, has seen it more than once at the barn and at the Penny over the last week and change. Knows this is about a lot more than charity to her.

He can't take sides though, at least not at the barn, doesn't want to make it any harder on Sam than it already is. But out here, Andy's his partner and he's going to make damn sure he has her back.

"It is, but I think you know there's more on the line here," he prompts, stealing a glance out of the corner of his eye. "Not really the friendly competition from the brochure anymore, huh?"

Andy huffs out a soft chuckle. (It was supposed to be Gail or Traci; it was supposed to be fun… sure, fun… barrel of laughs.) "It is for me," Andy insists.

Oliver pulls the cruiser over to the side of the road, throws it into park and turns to Andy. "You don't want to fight her for..." he pauses, searches her eyes, "bragging rights?"

Andy purses her lips, her eyes go soft as she realizes just how much she likes and respects this man, enough to tell him the truth. "Oliver, I'm trying to do what's right. He hurt me and it hurts all over again to…"

"Sam's my friend," Oliver interjects.

Andy starts to shake her head, reaches out to Oliver. "No, no, I know, I would never ask you to…"

Oliver covers her hand with his. "I mean I know him well enough to know that he's trying… maybe a little too hard. What is it you and Nash always say?"

Andy knows what he's getting at, really hopes that maybe Sam is faking his way through, but still…

"It doesn't matter," Andy shrugs. "If this is what he wants…" She holds up her hand to stop Oliver's protests. "If this is what he's **decided**, I have to respect that. I hurt him too and I can't take that back so…"

"Maybe he just needs to be reminded that sometimes the best thing is what you had."

Andy takes a deep breath, blows it out real slow before she responds. "He's different with her."

(She thinks about all the times she's seen them together - at the barn, in the parking lot, at the Penny. And how _she_ can get… so close. Not that **they** weren't close, him and her; it just felt like they had to keep themselves in check. And now… it's like he's got nothing holding him back. He's free. And she can't help but miss what she didn't get to have.)

Oliver doesn't waste a second. "Different isn't always better."

Andy's not so sure. "He looks happier," she notes as she pretends to gaze out the window, blinks back a tear instead.

"Well, looks can only get you so far," Oliver remarks. "And…"

"How are things with you and Zoe?" Andy blurts, flipping quickly in her seat. "I don't think I've asked you since I've been back."

Oliver nods, knows that's all that will be said about it today. "They're good. We're… working at it. It's not easy, but nothing worth having ever is."

He wills Andy to get it, thinks he might have made a little headway but all too soon the static from the radio bursts their little bubble and just like that reality rears its ugly head again.

* * *

Marlo waltzes into Sam's office with a brown takeout bag in her hand just after twelve. She grins big when he looks up from his file. Traci keeps her head down but lets her eyes wander up curiously.

Sam's smile is a little tentative as he glances first at Traci, and then back at Marlo. As she nears the desk, he reaches a hand out seemingly for the food.

Marlo extends her hand instead, uses it to pull herself in closer. "Uh uh uh," she rebukes, tucking the bag behind her back.

Sam's pulse starts to quicken and his gaze flits over to Traci again. He can see from the corner of his eye, that Marlo is leaning in, knows what she wants, isn't sure which woman he's afraid to disappoint more.

He's already let her get too close though, can't back out now. So when she purses her lips, he leans up in his seat and quickly pays the price, and gets rewarded like the good guy that he is.

Traci arches her brow; tries to remember if that ever worked for Andy without veiled, or more than likely not so veiled threats of paperwork for 'round about the next century. She glances down at her phone, thumbs a couple of buttons before clearing her throat. "I'm just gonna go…"

Sam's eyes go a little vacant; he had been counting on a chaperone to enforce a little distance. He's trying to wrap his head around exactly when it was that Cruz started to get so…hands-on…at work. She definitely wasn't one for affectionate displays back at the start. "You don't have to go," he assures Nash.

Traci's already halfway to the door. "It's fine, Andy and Oliver passed the Bulgogi truck; they're just pulling in around the corner."

She takes all the air in the room with her when she goes.

* * *

"Productive day?" Marlo asks Sam brightly, dragging a chair to sit side-by-side at his desk.

He watches on as she pulls the sandwich out of the packet, ignores a pang in his chest when he spots the ham and mustard she passes his way.

(It's just a sandwich, for godsake. And, she knows it's his favourite. He has it nearly every damn day. It's just weird now is all. With the mere mention of McNally being within a five mile radius, his simple ham sandwich becomes a veritable banquet of flashbacks and memories; loaded conversations over meals that _they_ shared.)

"Shoulda told you to get me salad instead," he says quietly, not daring to reach out his hand toward the offending item; partly in fear of other thoughts it might conjure up if he dares to lay even a finger on it, partly his concern that Cruz will seize the opportunity and rub a thumb on his skin. He really is not so sure about all this touchy-feely at work –

"What?" Marlo replies, oblivious to the war in Sam's head. "Don't tell me you're on a diet," she says casually, reaching over to run a hand over his thigh as she gives him a wink. "I like you just how you are."

Sam gives her a quick grin on reflex, has conditioned himself well enough to elicit that simple response when required. He shakes his head; "I just felt like a change."

* * *

Traci leans up against the side of the food truck, her eyes wide at the double-serve of beef that Oliver has placed in Andy's hands. "That's for the both of you, right?"

"Oliver's bulking me up," Andy chuckles. Her eyes dart down to the warm carton of meat. "Or should I say…beefing me up?"

Traci's smirk brightens. "Take Cruz down by sitting on her?"

Andy laughs for real then, one of her first decent ones of the day (or a week…). Only then she shakes her head, a painful thought passing over about how if Marlo was injured, Sam would tend to her needs. When her smile has diminished to the point of non-existence, Andy repeats her mantra; "You do realize it's for charity, right Trace?"

"Oh, I know," Traci nods. She passes some cash over to the person who just served her lunch, points a finger to indicate she wants another of that.

Andy stares at her, a little confused as her friend reaches out for that plate too. "You eating for me as well?"

Traci shakes her head. "I might take some of this back to Swarek. I don't think he likes what he's got."

Oliver's hand stalls just before his mouth. He's been content to let the girls do most of the talking, is kind of hoping that if he gets through his plate fast enough, he might have time for something sweet. But this...

"I think you're right," he nods sagely. "You know, like when you think you might want something, think it looks real good and so you decide to try it out. But then when it comes and you try it, well it's not really as great as you thought. It's okay, will even fill the void a little, but it's just not... satisfying."

"Yeah, yeah," Traci's head's bobbing. "Especially when you find out what your friend's having. And you've had it before and you know it's great. You start wishing that maybe you would have decided to go that way too. Remember just how much you enjoyed it..."

Oliver pulls another strip of meat off the top, tilts his head up before dropping it into his mouth. Points a messy finger over at Nash. "Because there was that time when you really wanted it, but then you found out that... the place was closed so you couldn't have it. It made you sad. Almost made you want to swear off the stuff. But you can't live without... sustenance." Oliver starts to shake his head, purses his lips in mock sympathy before he lets out a long sigh. "And today you're stuck because you made a different choice, and it's right there and you'd feel bad because there's really nothing wrong with it; it's just not quite... right."

Traci slides a napkin wordlessly out of her pocket and drapes it over Oliver's hand. "But if someone were to bring you what you _really _wanted. Offered you what you were missing. It would be real hard to say no when what you want is right in front of you."

"Yeah, see." Oliver's wagging that messy finger at her again. "I knew you were a detective for a reason."

Andy reaches out to grab the now empty container out of Oliver's hand, pushes off the cruiser and deposits it into the nearest trash can before her fingers are waving between the scheming pair. "You two are not helping."

"What? I'm only looking out for my partner's best interests," Traci claims innocently. "I can't help it if I think it's a shame for him to settle for something plain when he can have..." She closes her eyes and relishes the flavour as she pretends to mull it over, "...heavenly."

* * *

"Nash," Traci is greeted with coolly, as she walks into the office. Marlo's shoulder brushes hers on the way out the door. Traci hasn't been a detective for that long, but she is becoming more and more confident with her instincts. Can detect, for example, that the air she took out of the room with her earlier is only just coming back now.

"What's this?" Sam asks, looking up at Nash as she places a carton of beef in front of him.

Traci's eyes glance over at the untouched sandwich that sits on the corner of the desk. "I had a feeling you might still be…hungry."

Sam sits back in his chair, squinting at her. He crosses his arms and tilts a chin in defence. "Well, detective. In this case, your instincts were wrong."

Traci looks back at the sandwich. "I guess it looks like you're not hungry at all." She quirks an eyebrow, decides to call him out on some things. Figures she's got nothing to lose, nods at his food. "Cruz didn't take offence to your lack of appetite?"

Sam's jaw sets firm. Except –

Then he relinquishes a little, drops his shoulders down. They stare at one another for a few seconds, unblinking. "What do you care about what Cruz thinks?" he asks, eyebrow up and some effort in keeping his tone very light.

Traci shrugs, her own brow still up. "I don't," she replies matter-of-fact. "I just like to have my _partner's_ back. Make sure he's eating _right_."

Sam looks at her for another long ten seconds, wondering what the topic of conversation might have been out at the Bulgogi truck. He'd like to ask her actually, at least make sure McNally's not starving herself -

Sam gets out of his chair, clears his throat. Decides he really doesn't have the energy to worry about Andy's eating habits as well as his own. "We've got some leg-work to do," he huffs. He picks up the carton of beef and heads to the door leaving Traci in his wake. "Hurry up, Nash. I'll eat on the go."

* * *

"We still catching up for that drink?" Sam pulls aside Oliver at the end of shift in the men's locker room.

Ollie runs the flats of his palms to smooth out the chest of the casual shirt he's just changed to. "You betcha buddy. Wouldn't miss it for the world." He looks over his shoulder, wondering whether they might be interrupted –

"Sam?" they hear a familiar call from outside. (Marlo hasn't taken to entering the men's locker rooms unannounced before today, but she might as well, given the number of other inopportune times she's starting to pop up).

The look on Sammy is priceless; a couple of blinks and a swallow like he might have been sprung. His eyes flicker toward Oliver, and then bounce to the door. "Yeah…" he replies, around another lump being forced down his throat.

"We going to The Penny tonight?" Cruz pokes her head around the doorframe, giving a big smile to both of the boys.

Oliver watches on with a grin as Sam bites his lip.

After a couple of seconds of silence, Sam raises his hand, pats it a few times to Oliver's shoulder. "Ollie and I had plans to catch up tonight, remember?"

(He told her about this earlier, he did. And really, hadn't she agreed that it would be a good chance for her to put in some extra time at the gym like she said she wanted? Granted she originally wanted him with her but…

This just proves Sam's point: Cruz appears to be getting a little pushier when it comes to needing to spend more time with him. He might enjoy her company, but he wanted things to stay easy and casual. Now they're starting to feel like they're on some sort of schedule and the last thing he wants is Marlo crowding his space –

He thought they were on the same page: Keep it light. No strings attached. When they started this thing a little over a month ago, they made it perfectly clear to one another that that's what they wanted. "Not after anything serious, Swarek." That's what she told him the first time he agreed to an actual 'date'. "Let's just have some fun..."

For the life of him, Sam can't recall being informed of any changes she might want to that.)

"Oh," she says, a hint of a little put out. "Yeah, um. Yeah…" she brightens up, forcing one of those big smiles she's got. "Sorry! Forgot about that."

She walks all the way into the room, less sure of herself than Sam's seen before. He feels a slight twinge of guilt. "I mean," he says. "If you want to meet up with the rest of the crew…"

"No, no, no…" she shakes her head, still with the stiff smile. "I wanted to spend some time in the gym anyway so I'll, uh. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" She pushes to her toes, angles her body and gives him a kiss on the lips.

(And, seriously. If Sam is going to keep this thing going with Cruz, he probably has to get over feeling guilty every time she tries to show him some affection in front of his friends. It's not really fair on anyone, least of all Marlo. It makes him feel double the guilt.)

Ollie seems to pick up on Sam's quandary. His good buddy gives Marlo a polite smile before he turns and walks to his locker, then proceeds to bury his head in there and busies himself with applying enough aftershave to gas the whole room.

"Maybe tomorrow night we can do something nice?" Cruz asks, lowering her voice. "Dinner at that new little Mexican joint…or better still, a dinner party at mine…maybe invite Noelle and Frank?" Marlo continues; her eyes focused on Sam's as she keeps a hand on his shoulder.

The idea catches Sam completely off guard. He _was _thinking he might have a quiet one tomorrow evening. Tinker with a few things in the garage. But now it appears Cruz is lining them up for double dates with the boss?

Sam swallows at the thought of it, is unsure whether any sound will actually come out when he opens his mouth.

He guesses it would be good to spend some time catching up with Noelle. And it's not like Cruz is asking for something that's _abnormal_ for two people that are dating. He has to give her points for effort. It really wouldn't be fair of him to reject her on this –

"Yeah, uh. Sure. Why not," he croaks eventually, giving her a pat down the arm. "Kind of short notice for a babysitter though," he surmises out loud - one last ditch effort.

She smiles up at him for real now. "Leave the details to me," she instructs casually, reaching up to kiss him again before she walks out with a sway of her hips, and a flippant goodbye wave to Shaw.

Sam's eyes follow her cautiously, his breathing a little shallow as he gnaws into a lip. He's wondering whether maybe he needs to have some sort of talk with her after tomorrow night's event. Check in on the rules. Remind her of what they said at the start. If she thinks double dates with the boss _are_ casual, maybe he needs to rethink some things -

Oliver returns from his locker reeking of whichever spice Zoe fancies this week. He slaps a hand on Sam's shoulder as Marlo walks out the door.

From where Oliver is standing, it looks as though some pennies may finally be dropping for Sammy. He's seen this look on his friend before, there's definitely a little panic that's starting to set in. Double dates with the boss, what is Cruz even thinking? "Everything okay there, brother?"

Sam nods, eventually. "Fine," he mutters. He is more than apprehensive, but is doing his level best to not overthink anything. "I'm fine."

* * *

Andy's back is turned to Traci when they step through the door of the Penny. Traci's in the middle of retelling some story about the boxing she did when she was younger. "If she calls you a slut, you have my permission to beat her sorry ass."

"Inappropriate," Andy admonishes; she can't help but laugh though. "You wanna get a menu?"

"Seriously, you can eat after that double serve? What the hell did you do this afternoon?" Traci's voice comes close to a squeak by the end.

Andy gives her brow a little lift. "Well, I wasn't just sitting behind a desk if that's what you're getting at?"

Traci's mouth goes round and wide. "Oooh, you did not just go there."

Andy matches her wide eyes, flashes her a grin. "I'm beefing up remember," Andy touts, gives Traci her best Hulk pose.

Traci laces her arm into the curve of one of Andy's, spins her towards the bar. "Well let's get you fed up before you get angry then."

Andy's lip juts out in a pout. "What about you?" She hates to eat alone, has been doing it way too much lately. "Decide to keep all that goodness to yourself when you got back?

"Oh, no," Traci assures her, wide eyes and head pulsing like a jackhammer, "believe me I shared."

Andy purses her lips. "The food."

"Right, let's see what we can do for you," she responds, avoiding like a real pro. She lifts a hand to Liam, grabs two extra glasses and a couple of menus before she leads Andy to the table.

Andy's head is still shaking by the time they reach their friends. She appreciates Traci's support, she really does, but she doesn't want her to push Sam too far either. She knows good and well how Sam gets when he's pushed, and she doesn't usually fare very well on the other end.

As soon as they get close, Dov gets her by the arm and pushes her into the seat beside him; he's so giddy she wonders if he might have been invited to poker night. But apparently for Dov the prospect of a 'girl fight' is even better. "This is so great. You're gonna practice right, gonna win this. Rookie taking down a T.O. Andrews started the pool right after parade and…"

Chris' eyes have that concerned look in them. "It's not a real fight," he corrects Dov before turning to Andy. "It's for charity. It's just for show. You're not supposed to… I mean you shouldn't…"

Andy reaches out and places a soft hand on Chris' arm. "Relax, Chris, I know it's for charity. There's nothing at stake here."

Mouths drop open in succession around the table.

Gail's is the first to start working. "Nothing at stake?"

Up until this point, the blonde had been staring into the empty wine glass in front of her, but Andy's comment seems to have peaked some curiosity. Her unblinking eyes meet Andy's eventually. "Dark, brooding, bossy… Used to spend a lot of time between your… sheets." One of her pointy, sharp eyebrows goes all the way up. "Ring any bells?"

Andy blows out a breath, feels like she's fighting an uphill battle here. "This has nothing to do with Sam."

"Yeah," Gail sighs, with about as much conviction as Andy's seen out of her when she's filing her nails. "Well…I think someone forgot to give the write up to Cruz."

Before the conversation can get too far out of hand, Andy snatches a menu up off the table. "I thought we were going to eat."

"I could go for Nachos," Dov shrugs.

"Or wings," Chris suggests.

"Nope, not good enough," Traci insists, catching her friend's eye across the table. "All she's had is self-service lately; she needs something she can sink her teeth into."

Andy chokes on the last bit of her beer, ignores the open-mouthed grin on her supposed best friend's face while Chris rubs along her back.

"I'm getting another pitcher," she grumbles when her breath has finally returned.

* * *

Andy's got her forearms resting on the bar when Nick sidles up beside her, checks in with a friendly bump of the hip. "You know you could kick her ass if you really wanted to."

Andy grins shrewdly. "I know, but I really shouldn't."

Nick cocks his head to the side, challenges her with a grin of his own. "Doesn't mean you don't want to."

Andy's smile slides off her face as she twists her lips to the side. "It's not going to make any difference. She's really not the one I have to fight with for this anyway."

Nick lifts his arm and gives her shoulder a small squeeze. "He'll come around," he assures her.

Andy blinks a few times real quick, swallows hard. "You've seen them; I just wish…"

"We should practice, just to be on the safe side," Nick interjects, refuses to let her get complacent. He knows her, knows she's always better when she's doing something, working towards something. It's never good when her mind has too much time to itself.

"I'm going in early tomorrow; you can come if you want," she offers. "But I'm only practicing my defence; I just want to hold my ground."

"You sure?"

* * *

When Sam and Oliver walk in, they spot the rookie table right off but there are two empty chairs. Sam's eyes start to scan almost immediately, stop when they find the missing piece of the puzzle.

Oliver follows his eye line, isn't surprised by the scowl that is now adorning his friend's face. "Decide what you want yet?" Oliver asks.

Sam doesn't answer right away, even though he could really use a drink right now.

His throat's starting to close up on him, just like it always does when he sees Army Boy hovering. It's stupid because he knows it's been Peck all along with the guy, right hook and a week's worth of cold shoulder notwithstanding. But there's something about how close they are, how unguarded McNally looks when she's with him. It's just…

Sam shakes his head. "You buyin'?"

"We goin' with the usual? Or has that changed too? Something a little lighter maybe?"

Sam scowls, scrapes the stool loudly along the floor as he pulls it out. He levels a glare at his friend, announces for his benefit and Liam's. "Scotch."

"The hard stuff," Oliver acknowledges proudly, waves two fingers at the bartender. "Good choice, my friend."

Sam rolls his eyes, reminds himself that Oliver only has his best interests at heart. Still he really just wants to relax, stop thinking about anything and everything, at least for one night.

Both men sit in silence as they wait for their drinks. Sam enjoying the solitude, Oliver wishing it was that easy, but he knows that's not how it works. "Doesn't feel right," he announces swirling around the contents of the glass that was just set in front of him.

Sam's pulls the tumbler from his lips, waits for the slow burn to settle in his stomach before he turns to his friend. The look in Shaw's eye tells Sam that it has nothing to do with the amber in the glass. "Oliver."

"What? I'm just saying - things are different; you're different."

The scowl is taking up residence on Sam's face again; he wraps both hands tightly around the glass as he stares into it. "You're the one that said if you don't grow, you die," he accuses, narrows his eyes a little. "Maybe this is me growing."

Oliver shrugs. (Trying? Maybe. Growing…?) "To do that, you gotta stop avoiding the tough stuff… and don't tell me that you're _not_," he challenges.

Sam takes another pull off his drink, drops it down to the bar top a little too roughly. He's really trying here. "You're the one that told me I should get a new girlfriend."

Oliver's eyes flash wide at the revelation; Sam's never been one for labels, at least not the conventional kind – that is… something. He lifts his own drink to mask the surprise, lets his question echo into the glass. "So she is your girlfriend then?"

"She's a girl and she's my friend," Sam responds petulantly.

(Now that sounds more like the Sam he knows and loves. But still…) "What are we, twelve?" He wonders. Izzy's been using that line for at least three years now and he still keeps a close eye out when those 'friends' come over.

"I'm just saying, you're reading too much into this. You know what this is." It surprises Sam that Oliver's calling him out on it. They've been buddies for a long time. He knows how Sam is; how he's always been. This is not something new… (Oh.)

"Listen, buddy," Oliver lifts a hand, affixes it to Sam's shoulder. "Just a little friendly advice okay, that's it; then I'll shut up. I promise." He uses his other hand to cross his heart. "I thought I knew what this was. But you gotta admit…" Oliver pauses, gives Sam's shoulder a squeeze when he feels him tense up, knows Sam doesn't like to be told what to do, knows in this case that it still has to happen.

"Your 'friend' is starting to get a little cosy. And I'm sorry, but the PDA…"

"The PD what?" Sam blurts, a sleepy memory from way back when flashes in his head, something he thinks Andy brought up once in the early morning before he jumped out of bed and told her he'd meet her at the station. He lets it drop though, decides it's probably best if he doesn't figure it out.

"It looks to me like Cruz is looking for way more than what you're offering up here," Oliver lifts his hand from Sam's shoulder and claps him once on the back before pulling it away, "and from where I'm standing, she's getting it."

Sam nods, doesn't say a word, just takes a sip from his glass and lets it burn all the way down –

The flavour reminds him of a night long ago, when Jerry finally called it quits with his ex.

* * *

_Sam plucked the bottle off the shelf, knowing it was his best friend's favourite. They didn't drink that much of it really, didn't need to. Two or three straight up were comfort enough. _

_Sam can hear Jerry's words now; can picture his friend peering into the tumbler, explaining quietly exactly what it was that he enjoyed about Scotch._

_"This…is about living life to the hilt, son. One doesn't drink good scotch to get drunk. One doesn't drink something just because it's there. That's what my dad used to say, Sammy."_

_Sam knew Jerry's father, respected him a lot. Wished on more than one occasion that he had been born a biological brother to Jer. "I remember," Sam replied quietly. "Heard him say it myself once or twice too." _

_Jerry nodded a reply. "Taken me years to get used to the stuff. I still don't think I've quite reached the point of appreciating the complexity…the challenge it presents… still need to work on maturing my palate, I guess."_

* * *

Sam also remembers sharing the very same scotch with Jerry the night after he asked him to be his best man second time around. Jerry told him that time: _"the flavours, Sammy. I think I've finally worked them all out."_

It's in that particular moment: Sam realizes that he himself still has a long way to go…he tips his glass in silent recognition before bringing it to his lips one more time.

His glass is all the way empty now but he's still got more to swallow. "You want another?" He asks Oliver. "On me this time."

Oliver waves him off. "No, no. I gotta go."

Sam checks his watch and it's barely eight o'clock. "Already?"

Oliver turns to his friend and drops his chin a little to meet his eye. "You asked about home. Home is good. We're working at it. It's not easy, but it's what we want. It's hard and it's scary, but it's worth every second. And if that means I gotta compromise on my time a little, well that's what I have to do. That's what love is – give and take, seeing both sides, the good and the bad… and not keeping score."

Sam's already turned back to his drink by the time Oliver finishes. Makes a move to quench his thirst, but still comes up empty.

Oliver nods his head to the other side of the bar. "If you're not ready, go sit with the rookies. Get your fill."

(Yeah, that's not an option. That has hard stuff written all over it.)

"Or call Marlo and head over there. Maybe clear a few things up, stop pulling punches. You're not doing anyone any favours by holding back."

(Hard place: Meet rock.)

Oliver pushes off his stool and takes a couple of steps toward the back. Sam knows for a fact that he parked out front. "I thought you were leaving."

Oliver reaches into his pocket to pull out some cash. Drops the money on the counter and nods at Liam before answering Sam. "Gonna offer McNally a ride home. If I don't get her out of here now, Epstein'll keep her here all night. She needs to rest up."

"You're rooting for McNally." There's no malice in Sam's voice, not even surprise. It's just a statement of understanding.

Oliver swings his head to the side once. "It's for charity buddy, no need to take sides." He turns and waves over his shoulder. "Gotta make sure she comes out of it in one piece though." And because he feels a little bad about the parting shot, he adds, "I'd hate to have to start buying my own lunches again."

Sam watches his friend escort Andy out the door, doesn't miss how steadfastly she keeps her eyes glued to the exit. Resolves himself to a familiar feeling taking over for the rest of the night: as soon as she left, he wanted her to come back.

When Liam asks him if he wants another, Sam shakes him off. Picks up his jacket and slings it over his shoulders, decides maybe he'll take that quiet night in the garage tonight. Doesn't think he'll have to look too hard to find something that needs some kind of work.

* * *

_Up next: Charity match or not, you can't just jump straight into the ring...you've got to do some training, right?_


	2. Lacing the Gloves

_A/N: Thanks for the reads, reviews, follows, favourites. I should've mentioned previously that we hope to be updating daily (or thereabouts). There are around 8 or 9 chapters by the looks...this one is EXCEPTIONALLY LONG._

_Also: We appreciate how difficult 'certain' angsty situations may be to read (they're also excruciatingly difficult to write!) __It's at this juncture then that we should probably quote Ben Bass: "It's not over until it's over." __Hang in there, good boxing is about being able to go the distance, or so we have heard ;)_

* * *

**Co-written** with **dcj**

**Disclaimer: We don't own Rookie Blue**

* * *

**_'Lacing the Gloves'_**

_"Boxing is the toughest and loneliest sport in the world. You've got all the fans, lots of hangers-on jumping up and shouting different words. But when you actually go in the ring, it's a very lonely and scary place. It's just you and the other guy". - Frank Bruno_

* * *

Sam arrives at Fifteen early the next day. He wants to get a head start on some case files, sure, but he's also wanting to clear his mind before he puts his nose anywhere near them. The 3k he did at sunrise didn't do the trick this morning, for whatever reason –

(Maybe the invite he got from Cruz first thing asking him to join her at the gym she uses over by SWAT; according to her, everything he could ever want would be there… and a few of her old workmates were planning to show too…

Sam begged off the invite though: He kind of likes what he's got going here.)

He opens the door to the gym and freezes. Sees the toned shoulder muscles of a sweaty McNally working overtime on the bag. She lost a little weight while she was under, but her body looks like it might have been in training all that time too. He figures she did extra aerobics and weights, probably some running herself. Hell, running was Sam's go-to form of exercise whenever _he_ went UC.

Whatever she did, she's looking reasonably strong. Her punch lands harder than Sam remembers too. "You been workin' on your hook?" he asks her quietly, conscious of the momentum she's got. He doesn't want to intrude, but the way she's swinging has got Sam intrigued.

McNally throws two final punches, this time a reasonably impressive right uppercut, followed by a deadly left hook.

Sam raises an impressed eyebrow, moves further into the room but still keeps his space.

When she turns, she's breathing heavy. Sam half expects her not to give him a whole lot of eye contact, but she doesn't avert her gaze. She shuffles on her feet though, that's a dead giveaway of some nerves. She leans an arm against the bag. "Thought I'd better see what shots I've still actually got."

Sam casts his eyes down for a second or two, momentarily worried about her reading his expression. The phrase '_every shot'_ enters his mind unsolicited. But when the words settle in his brain, some other equally strong thoughts shut them right down. "Training's important, I guess."

"Not training, per se," she replies softly, fidgeting a little with one of the gloves. "Just don't want to get knocked off my feet. Don't wanna let myself get hurt."

Sam stiffens a little. Nods minutely. "Yeah, I know what you mean." His voice is rougher than what should have come out. Sam gets it, he does. He knows _now_ that his moving on might be painful for her –

But she left him. Sam _thought_ that when McNally chose to leave the division six months ago, she was choosing a change. As far as he was concerned, she wanted to move forward; that she was done for good with _them_…no going back.

* * *

Sam's words hit Andy right in the breadbasket. It's only the worn edge to his voice…this sound that comes out fine and fractured…that stopped the punch from hitting her below the belt. She _knows_ she hurt him too; they've been through this already. And it's really not what she had in mind when she thought about 'getting him back'.

Andy really does not want to keep trading these particular punches. She misses Sam. And she knows he's not _with_ her right now, but she doesn't want that to mean that they can't actually at least be…friends. She nods a little, just to let him know that she hasn't forgotten any confession he has already made.

She chews into her bottom lip, considering. For the longest minute of her life, Andy has no earthly idea what small step she might be able to take to show him that she's prepared to sit ringside. Hell. That she'll do better than that. She'd be his corner-man if that's what it took…

Well. Whatever it is…she's prepared to be there for him _somehow_…in some way…until he lets her back into the fight.

Sam catches her off guard when he breaks the silence. "So, how_ is_ the defence now?" Andy's eyes widen, surprised as he takes another step in her direction. His hands are secure in his pockets as he mutters the question, but she thinks she detects a small smile.

She can't help but grin back at him, shaking her head. A part of it really _is_ a surprise –

The fact that he was the one brave enough to take that first step. "Oh, you know me," she replies eventually. "Fancy with the footwork, but not so great with the rest." Andy shifts away from the bag as she says it, wondering how Sam might react to _her _taking a step toward closing their gap. They're only a few feet away from one another now, probably as close as they've been since –

Well. Since.

"Footwork will get you places, that's for sure," he says with some air, his smile growing just that inch bigger. Lopsided though. He tips his chin up at her, and takes another small step in. "You've got a good shoulder roll too."

The blush that comes over Andy's cheeks is the first significant one she has had in an indeterminate number of months. She avoids ducking her face shyly because something instinctive inside of her _wants_ to show that colour to him.

She clucks her tongue and peers bravely from underneath her lashes to inform him; "Yeah…well… I learned from the best…"

Sam chokes out a dry laugh, shaking his head. His grin shows a flash of teeth as he takes yet another step closer. "Consider it payment in kind, McNally," he says, looking as though he's trying to hold in a laugh.

After another moment, Sam gets that faux-serious look on his face that always makes Andy's heart skip a beat. "Gotta admit our sparring sessions improved my blocking big time."

Andy's friendly left jab toward his shoulder is on instinct; it's released full and fast –just like her laugh in his face. He deflects her hand with a parry before she connects with him though, briefly holding on tight to her wrist –

"Sorry, I'm late…" Nick's voice booms through the room as the door swings all the way open; Andy's break-up buddy panting like he might have run all the way here. "Oh…I…"

Sam drops Andy's hand back to her side, turns on his heel. "It's okay, Collins." He walks in the direction of the door Nick's come through. "I should probably go do some work."

Andy pipes up quickly, desperately not wanting him to leave. The atmosphere and the words were getting warmer; she really thought they might be getting somewhere -

Clearly Nick didn't _mean_ to barge in, but seriously. Andy might have to run through a list of do's and do not's with her current sparring partner. "You don't have to leave, Sam…"

Sam turns his face in her direction, gives her another small smile. "I'll see you around, McNally." He pauses in the doorframe as though he has some second thoughts. "Work on your countering, okay?"

Andy's brow furrows momentarily, but then she thinks…hopes…that Sam maybe…just maybe…might be trying to give her a hint…

* * *

Sam continues on toward the direction of the coffee station. He blows out a breath, frustrated –

For starters, he's feeling guilty. He knows Cruz has been working her ass off since the fight was announced. Has been in his ear to help her out. Both yesterday afternoon and this morning he found some excuse not to get in a ring with her. Then two minutes near a pair of gloves and McNally and he's feeling this –

Itch.

Given another two minutes and Sam's fairly certain he would've put a pair of gloves on himself. Would've let McNally practise her defensive techniques with him. He tries to forget why -

As he pours himself some black coffee, Sam tries to drown out how much he misses fighting with her…

And then there's the niggling irritation; of course army-boy is her go-to-man for training now. Of course he's going to let her hit him. Any residual smile Sam has is starting to fade at that thought. He sips at the hot coffee and winces. His brain catches up a couple of seconds later; that was something in his chest getting burned.

* * *

Nick's eyes bounce between Sam and Andy till Swarek disappears down the hallway. When he dares to look back at his former partner, she's looking a lot disappointed and he's feeling more than a little guilty. "My timing sucks huh?"

Andy's head does this little flip to the side as her eyebrow shoots up. "Ya think?"

"I'm sorry, okay?" Nick's begging. "I forgot to tell Gail last night, so when I got up early this morning…"

Nick's not a blusher and there's really not a whole lot shy about him either so she can't quite get a read on why he might be holding back. Still, Andy's pretty sure she doesn't want to hear it.

She's doing her best Princess Leia, gloved hands muffled tightly to her ears. "Ew." She pulls one hand away just long enough to punch Nick in the shoulder. "I do NOT need to know any more about your hand to hand with Gail."

"Well, if we're being honest it wasn't exactly my hand…" he says, a little more confidently and with his own tilt of the head.

Andy cuts him off with a right cross straight to the chest; wipes that smug (and annoyingly satisfied) grin right off his face.

"Hey," he moans, lets his bag fall to the floor so he can rub at the spot she just pummelled.

Andy's dancing around on her feet – floating like a butterfly… She lets go of a few more punches, albeit a lot softer this time, just to tease. "What's the matter GI? Can't take it? Getting soft?"

Nick spies the extra set of gloves on the bench behind her, makes a move to go after them, but Andy's quicker, gets her whole body between him and the prize.

Nick lifts an amused brow. "So, 'work on your countering'?" He recants right before he fakes one way and then dives at the gloves from the opposite direction. "Guess that means he didn't make you spill all your secrets then huh?"

That stalls Andy for a second; she doesn't think he would… she replays their conversation in her head. (If anyone was giving anything away…)

In what feels like the next second, Andy's stomach is plummeting and her hands are grappling for purchase on Nick's arm as her feet slide out from under her. He's got a good hold on her though, lowers her easily to the floor.

He ignores the unamused stare she's got going. "**Don't** lose focus," he commands before he releases her and backs away.

Andy shifts herself up to her elbows, watches as he slides the gloves easily on to his hands. "Pretty sure you'd get disqualified for that."

"Pretty sure I could've knocked you out if I wanted to too," Nick shrugs, "you can't afford to let anything distract you."

Nick knows Andy's got the skills –

(After the first few nights of watching crappy television in their even crappier UC apartment, they made a trip to the second hand store and picked up some board games… and some old gloves Andy spotted on the shelf.

She was actually pretty good, surprised him a little even. He could tell that she'd had some experience, just not nearly as much as him. He took it easy on her for a bit… until she decided to get cocky.

He felt pretty bad when she was sitting there with the ice pack. But she just laughed it off, told him she should have known better, told him it made her look tougher. Then she proceeded to inform him that he had to make it up to her by teaching her everything he knew.)

Yeah, she's got skills. But if she can't keep her head in the game, it's not going to matter. And he has a feeling that Cruz is not above using her mouth to her advantage.

Andy harrumphs a little; then pushes herself up off the floor. "I'm not going to get distracted," she insists.

Nick nods mockingly, pushes on her shoulder a little to taunt her. "Show me what you got then champ. Let's see what you can do." Andy throws a quick jab that Nick blocks easily. "You can do better than that."

"Defence remember?" Andy reminds him.

Nick's eyes bear down on Andy. "Sometimes the best defence…"

"Yeah, yeah," Andy huffs out. "I'll show you offense." She throws a few more quick jabs and then comes around with her left hook.

Nick's able to block her, but just barely. He's bouncing on his feet now though, smiling a little as he peppers a few shots back at her. He likes her like this, when the fire comes back into her eyes.

It means he has to step up his game though or else…

Nick's mouth forms a perfect 'O' when she's able to connect with his side. "You think you can take me," he jabs back. "Huh? Huh?"

"You're going down," she vows, ponytail bobbing behind her. "Gonna be rough tellin' those army buddies of yours that your first loss was to a girl."

Nick steals a quick glance at the clock on the wall, figures they don't have long if they both want to catch showers before parade. "Well, we've only got ten minutes, so you better make it fast," he challenges.

Andy lifts her hands up to protect her face, narrows her eyes before one eyebrow makes a move of its own. "That what you tell Gail this morning too?"

Nick feels the next punch hard. It makes him smile though; he doesn't really mind that she just beat him at his own game.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later and Andy's darting towards the locker room. Her cheeks are flushed and the better part of her hair has escaped from the pony tail and is sticking to the side of her face.

But to Sam, she's never looked better. He watches from the coffee station, finger tapping against the side of the cup. His coffee's cooled down enough for him to bring it up to his lips again, but something is holding him back.

His eyes follow her retreating figure, the bounce in her step.

It's a hard pill to swallow knowing Collins helped put that there.

Sam scratches at his chest as he continues to watch the determined gait of her steps, the way her legs and arms swing in time, the way her hips sway just that bit.

If Sam didn't know any better, he'd think she was still in the ring; the way she used to sidestep around him, and then out of nowhere crowd all his space. A single memory floods his senses as she vanishes through the doors to the locker room, it was of the last sparring session they had –

(He took her to the gym in his neighbourhood early one morning a few days before Jerry died, had finally decided to show her what he was up to some of those mornings he skipped out on her early.

It was probably the most fun Sam had ever had working out – watching McNally work up a sweat because they kept pushing and pushing until they both hurt -

Sam stepped back against the ropes to take a breath, watched on as she doubled over to suck in air of her own. When she stood straight she just _looked _at him, bright eyes and a smile that caught him off guard…right before she took three determined steps and lunged into his arms. "I love you," she told him, right on his mouth).

* * *

Marlo stills her back against the wall. Feels a pang of…something…as she watches Sam watch McNally. She can see him clearly from where she is, another two inches and he'd probably spot her.

She knows what she's got with Sam is far, far from the point of marriage and babies; she knows it's still fairly _new_…and it started out as some casual fun. But the thing is – she actually _really_ likes him. Likes the fact that he's not pushy and possessive. That he's easy to be around and makes her feel good about herself. It also helps that she likes looking at him a whole lot too –

But when she sees it, she knows it. That look he just gave McNally, that is a look she would like seeing directed _her_ way.

After a few seconds of feeling angry, she bites inside her cheek to feel some pain there instead of…elsewhere. She repeats her silent mantra; _'it's in the past'_. It doesn't stop the niggling feeling she has though, doesn't stop her thinking he's trying to get over McNally by attempting to use some sort of rebound technique.

And early days Marlo would've been happy to just play that role. But now she wonders if she's not headed for a hard surface herself.

She blows out a slow breath, keeping an eye on the back of Sam as he heads towards his office. Figures it best not to talk to him yet. She resolves to make the most of her plans to get them together with Frank and Noelle. It'll be a good chance to 'see' where he's at she figures. See how he is with her in front of his friends. Maybe talk to him later tonight; go back to her place...

McNally's only just returned to the fold, so there's every possibility Sam is still adjusting, coming to terms with how she hurt him with her right in his face. So, if Marlo detects _any_ sign that she's got a good shot at this, she's going to push the point with him. She wants to crank things up at least _some_ kind of notch.

* * *

Andy's still rubbing the towel at her wet hair when she rounds the row of lockers that leads to her own. A quick glance at her watch tells her she's still got some time but she wants to hit the coffee machine before parade.

She's lacing up her boots when she hears the small whimpers coming into the room.

"Heyyy," Andy greets, her content smile growing into something bright.

"Heard you were back," Noelle chimes out by way of greeting. She lays a changing pad out onto the table before placing Olivia gently upon it.

Andy slides her arms through her long sleeve quickly and tucks her tie into her pocket before pushing her locker closed. "Yeah, a couple weeks now," she confirms, walking over to the mother and daughter pair.

She makes short work of the buttons before reaching a finger out to Olivia's. She leans over to catch the little girl's eye before she coos. "You come to visit Daddy?"

By the time it's out of Andy's mouth, Noelle's already started putting everything back together. She's a natural, just like everything else she's ever tried.

She looks at the reverence in Andy's eyes and it brings a smile to her own face. When she lifts the baby off the table, she presses her towards McNally. "You mind?"

Andy's smile grows even brighter. "Of course not," she accepts, reaching for the little girl eagerly, pulling her right in against her chest.

Noelle turns towards the sinks, can hear Andy's soft voice and her daughter's answering gurgles behind her. Her eye is drawn to the mirror as she lathers up her hands.

The smile on Andy's face is unguarded and matched only by the one on her little girl's. Both completely caught up in the wonder of each other.

Noelle watches on silently as Andy's fingers trace the deep indents in her daughter's chubby cheeks. The wistful look in Andy's eye is quick and gone, but Noelle catches it, knows it well.

She reaches for a paper towel and turns as she dries her hands. "How does it feel being back?"

Andy shrugs quickly, pulls her eyes up from the baby but only for a second. "I don't know; fine, I guess. Different," she admits.

Noelle huffs out a soft chuckle. "No doubt. Guess I'll find out for myself in a couple months."

Frank's let a few things slip but he's not a gossip; neither is Noelle really but what she has heard surprised her. Really cannot imagine some of the changes she's told she'll be walking into. But from the looks of McNally, they can't be far off.

"Yeah," Andy concedes quietly. "I'm sure you'll be ready though."

Noelle's eyes creep up a little. "You weren't?"

Andy's still watching the baby, when she answers. "I don't know. It's like you know in the back of your head that life goes on. But you hope…" She pauses, breathes in and out a few times, and then finally dares a look over at the senior officer. "It's just not what I expected to come back to."

Noelle smiles softly; if anyone gets that life throws you curves, it's her. "I hate to break it to you Rookie, but life's not always what you expect. You gotta take what comes at you and roll with it. Figure out what you want and don't give up." Noelle tosses the paper towel into the nearby garbage and steps up next to Andy. She places a soft hand on her daughter's back. "It's not easy, but it's all worth it in the end."

"It definitely was for you," Andy agrees, kisses the little hand Olivia has wrapped around her finger before she tilts her head to the side. "Did you always know this was what you wanted?" Andy wonders; she's heard just how good Noelle was when she was younger, knows just how far she could've gone.

"I wouldn't change it for the world," Noelle crows. "It was tough that's for sure. There were a lot of times I thought about giving up the idea of being a mom, even put it on the backburner a few times." She pulls her eyes reluctantly away from her daughter to settle on McNally. "I was going to take the Sergeant's Exam did you know that?"

She doesn't wait for Andy to answer, instead she just shrugs. "In the end, I knew what I wanted. And I was willing to do just about anything to make it happen. It was worth the wait." She nods at her daughter. "SHE was worth the wait."

Andy believes her; she really does. But the waiting, the doing nothing but hoping, the not knowing if it will ever… it's just all so hard. "You never worried that you couldn't have both, that you might have to give up one for the other."

Noelle's starting to get a little clearer picture of McNally's fears here. "It wasn't easy and it's still not going to be easy. I know that. But I do think yo… I can have both. And I think it's okay to want both… to go after both. There will always be times where one gets a little more attention, but that's where your partner comes in. You gotta hope you find someone who gets that and together you just have to find the right combination, the right balance."

Andy takes a deep breath, nods understandingly before sliding on her best 'fake it till you make it' smile. "We should get going," she suggests gesturing towards the door. "Someone's probably ready to get home and relax," she croons to the little girl.

"Unfortunately we have a few errands to run first," Noelle grumbles, "and I forgot to get the keys from Frank so…" She reaches for her daughter as they approach the doorway.

Andy has other ideas though. "I can hold her if you want to just run up."

"I'd love to," Noelle concedes, "but I don't think her daddy would be very happy with me if I didn't give him the chance to see her one more time."

Andy purses her lips. "Well I can't blame him," she babbles to the little girl before she lifts her away from her body and passes her over to her mother.

"She really is great, Noelle," Andy brags, "I would love to spend more time with her." She takes Olivia's hand gently in her own, places a soft kiss on her palm. "If you ever need someone to look after her, please let me know," she offers sincerely.

Noelle's eyes flash wide, pleasantly surprised by the young woman's offer. "Thanks, McNally. We just might take you up on it."

"Now let's go see Daddy," she tells her daughter, lifting her little hand and waving it toward Andy. "Say bye to Officer McNally."

Andy drops her knees a little so she can get eye level with the little girl. "Bye, Ninja," she coos, her smile and eyes alight.

She doesn't stop waving till she feels a slight tug from her pocket. When she looks over, Nick's got her tie in his hands. "Missing something?"

* * *

Sam is on his way between records and his office when he sees the exchange –

It's like McNally is everywhere. (Either that, or..._he's _actually trying to catch a glimpse. Trying to make sense of how to handle being in the same space with her without it having an effect -)

He slows down the pace he had set out when he first came out of the room, doesn't want to enter that particular Bermuda Triangle of girls while he's in this frame of mind. He steps to the far side of the wall and walks slower still, tries to keep his eyes averted and as though he's looking at the file in his hand.

There's a softness to McNally that he's only seen on the odd occasion. Even when she's been upset or sad, she's always pretty effective in making it look like she's courageous and brave...

Or those other times when she appears completely uncertain, and just wanting to deny any fears she might have.

Sam doesn't think any less of her either way. He can relate to both.

But here with Ninja, is a McNally that is open; a vulnerability and tenderness that puts a hard lump in Sam's throat. He can't take his eyes off the connection between her gentle touch, and Olivia's tiny, chubby hand.

He actively has to keep his features in check when he hears the "Bye, Ninja."

(The baby's name wasn't just a running gag that Sam had with Oliver; it was a point of discussion with Andy too –

He may have frozen when she smacked at his chest and laughed as she whined; "please remind me that no baby of ours can _ever _be named by you."

And it wasn't that Sam didn't not ever want to think of the future in those terms...it's just –

It was a lot. And it was only a few days after she first told him she loved him. He was still coming to grips with _that _particular fact.

Suffice to say, it caught him while he was on the back foot.

He recovered pretty well though, let her continue to laugh as he picked her up and dumped her onto his bed.)

Sam's thoughts are interrupted when Collins appears beside McNally. He rolls his eyes at the wide smile that's growing on army boy's face as he reaches into Andy's pocket to pull out her tie.

Sam swallows down any lump that had formed in the past minute. He reaches into his jeans to pull out some gum; anything to take away whatever _that_ taste is in his mouth.

Sam chews at the inside of his cheek and decides to pull his big boy pants up; he needs to get back to his office and start work on this case. He picks up his pace and carries on down the corridor, gives his best polite nod to GI Joe before he smiles small at Andy, and keeps walking as they head in the other direction, into the pit.

* * *

The double dose of dimples Andy's had in the past few minutes is not making her day necessarily easy, but along with the boxing, they have helped to brighten her mood.

She returns Sam's quick smile in a similar manner, although Andy fears hers may be a little more wistful... so, she's going to have to work on that bit.

After Sam has passed, she turns to give Nick some pre-emptive eyebrow. "Just...don't...okay..." she urges quietly, willing him not to get in her ear. Everything already hurts enough without all the continual pushing and prodding from everyone else.

Nick stops in the spot, puts a hand on her arm. "I get it," he says quietly. "Andy, I get it." He looks up in the direction of where Sam disappeared. "I just...other points of view help sometimes, you know?" He bites into his bottom lip, keeps a hold on her arm. It's about as serious as Andy's seen him. "I know I haven't been Swarek's biggest fan. But that wasn't my role." Nick locks his eyes on hers, waits until she stops fidgeting. "But from what I've seen this morning...the way he looks at you..."

"Don't," Andy cuts in angrily. "Please." She shakes her head, frustrated at the back and forth of her own feelings. A little dismayed at the fact her good mood that had been building is starting to crumble again. "I just...I can't let myself _hope_ more than I already do."

Nick blows out a long breath, nods in understanding. He does get it too, it's not like he hasn't been there himself on the odd occasion. He kicks himself mentally that he's not sticking strictly to break-up buddy duties. "You're right," he says, breaking the tension. "No more talking about Swarek." He tips his chin towards the coffee station. "You wanna caffeinate first?"

Andy grabs him by the arm, immediately starts pulling him towards the machine as she rolls her eyes. "You have to ask?"

* * *

Sam is surprised to find Cruz in Frank's office when he walks past; he was convinced she was stuck with Peck and speed traps. Thought she got a pass for parade so they could get an early start.

His brow furrows as he watches her talk between Frank and Noelle. He looks around for Peck, wonders if there might be a problem with her –

"Sam," Marlo pops her head around the doorframe. "These two are free for tonight. Supper at mine."

There's not a whole lot about what Marlo's just said that soothes the crease in his brow. He opens his mouth to answer, but is met by Cruz who pushes up to her toes and gives him a kiss.

Sam doesn't miss the mild surprise on the faces of the boss and Williams. In fact, that glass they're standing behind must've had a good clean this morning, because he sees the shape and arc of both sets of eyebrows crystal clear. Even Ninja looks as though she has a pout on her face.

Sam gives Cruz a practiced grin. "Okay..." Marlo _is_ warming up to something more than casual between them, and he's definitely going to need to figure out some words that might address that... but he figures no harm, no foul with the dinner. He'd really like to catch up with Frank and Noelle. And, if things get too 'coupley' he can always excuse himself -

"It'll be nice to get to know Ninja a little better too," he suggests out loud and more to himself.

Marlo smiles big. "Your quality time with Olivia will have to wait..." she replies, rubbing a hand down his side. "Apparently McNally put in an offer to babysit not even five minutes ago. It's just the four of us. Noelle and Frank could use some 'adult time', if you know what I mean."

Sam has no idea really. Well. He assumes the baby takes up a lot of their waking and sleeping hours, so he guesses a break from that once in a while would be welcome. "Oh," he huffs out, a little disappointed. In between his runaway thoughts of how Andy and the baby might spend their time tonight, Sam manages to pull himself together. "Should I bring anything?"

Marlo still hasn't taken the smile off her face, despite the wide range of expressions Sam is undoubtedly shooting her way. She squeezes at his hand, tells Sam pretty loudly; "An overnight bag."

Fight, flight, or freeze; Sam knows every response. He's used every single one in the past. He'd like to think his auto response is that of 'fight' but if he's actually honest with himself, he'd have to say his whole life has been littered with 'flight'. On this occasion, that's what every part of his brain and body are telling him to do. But the way Cruz has got her hand on his arm right now has knocked him off course –

He can't move from the spot.

It's not until Noelle comes out to say hello properly, that Sam blinks and takes a step in the direction of her and the baby, reaching his arms out to them to shake Marlo's off.

Williams greets him with a wink and a grin. "Sammy, Sammy. Still can't get used to it," she announces, shakes her head from side to side as she eyes the badge on his hip. "I really never thought I'd see the day."

Sam rolls his eyes, knows he's in for some ribbing. When she first heard about him writing the detective's exam, she threatened to take him suit shopping. He shot that down REAL quick, still didn't stop her from emailing him pictures for a week straight though. And thank God the catalogues stopped showing up last month; he still owes her for all the phone calls it took to get his name off the mailing lists.

"How's it working for you anyway?" She continues, "You really okay out of the action, sitting by, jumping when you get the call?"

Sam blinks a few times quickly, tries to get a read on exactly what she's getting at here. "You know there's more to it than that."

She gives a quick shrug of one shoulder. "Yeah, maybe," she allows, "but you did give up a few things in the process too."

Sam doesn't like thinking about what he gave up, tries to focus on what he has, what's better, but for the life of him nothing comes to mind right now.

Noelle turns to Marlo. "I'll check with McNally and let you know. Girl like that doesn't just sit around." She steals a quick glance over at Sam, watches the tense set of his jaw. "If we're lucky though, she hasn't got a better offer."

When his eyes fly up to hers, she winks again before she pats him once on the cheek. "See you later, Sammy."

She flips on her heel. "McNally!"

* * *

Andy practically pulls Nick all the way to the coffee, on a mission to put some space between her and Sam, who was just ambushed by Cruz outside Frank's office. She does not need to see what that's all about, has seen more than enough around the barn to last her a lifetime.

Nick humours her, lets her lead the way, knows his job right now, even acts as a bit of a shield by standing tall and shifting his body to block the view. Even though he wouldn't mind getting a good look himself, testing out his theory, seeing just how Swarek looks at Cruz.

Andy's already busied herself pressing buttons on the machine, shoves a coffee into Nick's hand before starting in on the machine again. She's just plucking her own cup from the appliance when they hear Cruz' voice ring out loudly with "an overnight bag".

Andy's coffee sloshes over the side of her cup when she jumps at the implication she's been trying so hard to avoid. Nick hears her huff out a humourless chuckle and what sounds like the word 'hopeless'. He sets his coffee down, pulls hers from her hand, sets it on the counter before he hands her a towel. He swipes up the small mess from the floor, waits for her to get her hands dry before he hands her back her cup.

"Thanks," Andy mumbles.

"Anytime," Nick replies, placing a soft hand on her back to guide her forward. "We gotta…"

He watches Andy steal a peek towards Frank's office. They both watch on as Noelle pats Sam once on the cheek before she turns away. Cruz has already taken her place, all up close and personal with Sam.

"McNally!" Noelle calls out.

Andy's eyes jump from Sam over to Noelle; they widen when Frank joins her and adds. "McNally, Collins will fill you in."

Andy nods, can't get out the 'yes sir' before he's moved on to his next target. "Cruz, aren't you meant to be somewhere else?"

Andy bites the inside of her cheek when Marlo jumps and scurries down the hall with a 'yes sir' of her own. It's kind of nice to see someone else on the hot seat for a change.

Frank extends his hand towards the parade room. "Gentlemen."

As soon as the boys are gone, Andy looks back over at Noelle who doesn't waste any time getting to her point. "You got plans for tonight?"

Andy furrows her brow and shrugs. "Not really, probably hit the gym for a bit after work, then maybe the Penny, that's about it," she shrugs.

"I know it's short notice and you JUST offered," Noelle acknowledges, "but I was wondering if you could watch Olivia tonight. If you can't that's fine," she rushes to assure Andy, "we can just take her with us for supper, but..."

"No, no, you guys go," Andy interjects, "have a nice romantic dinner, enjoy some time alone."

Noelle's eyes drop down for a second before they lock onto Andy again. "Cruz invited us over," she confesses, wouldn't blame Andy if she turned her down flat.

Andy tries to smile, but it doesn't quite get there. "Sam too." It's more of a statement than a question.

Noelle blows out a slow breath. "Yeah," she confirms, though she's pretty sure it's unnecessary.

"Double Date," Andy labels wistfully.

Noelle flashes her dimples, leans down close even though no one is around. "Intervention."

* * *

The rest of Sam's day goes way too quick for his liking -

He wants to spend some more time focusing on details of the case at hand, but instead he clashes with both Nash and their witnesses, doesn't ever really get a groove on in terms of sinking his teeth in, and making sense of the evidence they have -

Young man found dead in his apartment, no obvious motives or enemies anywhere to be found. The guy seemed to have it all together; good job, fiancée he was about to marry, nice mix of friends…but still, something doesn't add up.

There is one consolation to Sam's dilemma though; the fact that he's so focused on what's right there in front of him means he hasn't caught a breath. Hasn't thought about McNally or Marlo, or how the hell he might address some concerns to the latter later tonight.

It's only when Nash taps his shoulder around 5:30 that Sam even stops to look at the time.

"Why don't you get out of here," she suggests pretty curtly - about as short with Sam as he was with her earlier on in the day.

"Gonna keep looking over things," he replies. Muttering and huffing despite the fact he's trying hard to improve his attitude toward his partner. After all, it's not her fault things with this case aren't going as planned -

"Look too hard and you're gonna miss the facts." Nash's voice is more level than the words would suggest.

When Sam looks up from the tragic images in front of him, he sees some genuine concern on her face.

"No I'm not," he argues petulantly, even though he gets the niggling feeling that she might be right.

"Seriously, Swarek," Nash persists, infuriatingly calm. "Give yourself some time and space tonight, I can guarantee that tomorrow morning you'll be looking at things with a fresh set of eyes."

Sam barely manages to school his features. He lets out a dry laugh. He stands up and grabs his jacket, gives Nash a pointed glare. "You nag Leo like this?"

She stays firm in her spot, crosses her arms. "Only when he needs a point of view that's clearer than his."

* * *

When Sam makes his way down the stairs Cruz is waiting. She's freshly showered and greets him brightly with another soft kiss on the lips.

"Hey," Sam says, fairly well exhausted. He doesn't have the energy to say a whole lot more than that.

Cruz does the talking for him, thankfully. Her firm directions filling the room; "so, I have to go get a few groceries, but come over whenever you're ready. Here are the keys."

She holds a hand out, dangling the cluster of shiny objects in front of him.

Sam's eyes bounce between them and her eyes.

He decides then and there, they're not what he wants. If he took them now, Sam knows they'd hang heavy in his pocket. Call it gut instinct, but he just knows he never wants to let himself into Marlo's house. He doesn't want whatever responsibility she's offering up, because it just doesn't feel right –

"I'll be a couple of hours anyway," he replies quietly, not wanting to make a scene at the station. "What time will Frank and Noelle be there?"

Marlo's brow furrows. There's more concern on her face than Sam's seen since he met her. "7:30," she stutters. "Everything okay?"

Sam opens his mouth to tell her they'll talk later tonight, but then Cruz goes full speed ahead - answers the question she just asked him all by herself. "Hard day, huh?" Doesn't wait for a response on that one either, just barges ahead; "Well, don't worry," she smiles, raising an eyebrow "by the time I've finished with you tonight, you'll be far more relaxed."

With that, she tugs at his shirt to give him a last kiss goodbye, turning on a heel straight after so she misses the look that passes over Sam's face.

His features are no longer the relaxed, easy, safe they were a few weeks ago; they are tense and annoyed.

He scratches at his chest, cuts off a look he was just being given by Ollie who was watching on from a distance by telling him "don't".

He's too busy glaring at his buddy to notice that Army Boy has a pretty good vantage point too. Sees everything clear as a bell.

* * *

Andy checks her watch for what feels like the hundredth time today, takes a glance over her shoulder before she pulls into the turning lane. Finally, finally, they can head back in.

Could this day have been any longer?

(The second they left the barn, she was praying for it to be busy. God what kind of cop wishes for a crime spree? She needed it though - one of those days where you just run from call to call to call with no time to think in between. You just GO. MOVE. REACT.

But of course the universe is still conspiring against her.

The one day, okay maybe not just the one but still, she just needs to move, to keep moving, and do something other than think. And seriously? Two callouts..._two_. They weren't nearly enough to stop her from imagining and reimagining _everyone's_ big plans for the night. She purses her lips together tightly. _Double date with the boss and then a sleepover_.)

Andy's grip tightens on the steering wheel as she rolls her eyes.

God she really needs to stop thinking about it.

Still, it's what she does. Overthinks. Every. Little. Thing. Except right now this doesn't feel so little.

She huffs out a long, loud breath, waves Nick off when he gives her the eye... again.

(Every time she grabbed the radio today, someone beat her to it. By the time afternoon hit, she would have even taken a drunk and disorderly. But no, all she got was a couple tickets and a leisurely walk through the park while they ate their lunch. She must have been really pathetic because Nick even offered to spring for ice cream.

She's pretty sure they both sighed out in relief when the call came in just after lunch for a B&E – just what the doctor ordered – interviews, canvassing, paperwork, home. Except before she could even get her feet on solid ground, Cruz shows up out of nowhere and steals it right out from under them, walks around like she owns the damn place. Decides right then and there she's got it covered, is sure Nick and Andy's efforts would be better spent elsewhere.)

Andy's knuckles are turning white against the wheel. Nick resolves that the paperwork is on him tonight, knows she needs some good solid time in the gym if she's going to be in any state of mind to take care of someone other than herself tonight.

When they come to a rest and she finally lets it go, she has to open and close her hands a few times to get the circulation going again. She really needs to get rid of some of this energy, to just hit until she can't think about anything anymore.

The only good thing about today being slow is that it will get her to the gym faster, with enough time to get it all out of her system before she has to head over to Frank and Noelle's.

She checks her watch again, is pretty sure if they split the calls they can be done in fifteen minutes.

* * *

When they step inside the barn, Andy angles her body towards their desks, but Nick heads her off at the pass. Their shift is done in ten minutes anyway and it will only take him a half hour to push everything through on his own.

That's how she finds herself not fifteen minutes later already staring at the heavy bag. She checks the clock on the wall, figures she's got a good hour. Then she can shower here, grab a bite and head straight over.

She shakes her arms out a little, rolls her head from side to side, starts bouncing up and down on her feet. The first few punches land softly on the bag as she warms up.

She starts to pick up steam when she spies Cruz walking by the window deep in conversation with Gail, who looks none too pleased.

(At least she's not the only one.)

The next blow lands hard; Andy feels it reverberate right down into her chest. (She and Sam never went on a double date with any of his friends.)

She tries to recall if they ever even sat down for a drink together at the Penny with a couple of friends, something that could be construed as a double date. (Nope.) Even in her thoughts the 'p' pops. She lets go of another steady stream of punches.

She tries to work her way through a tricky combination next. (Would he stay over for breakfast? Would they come in together tomorrow?) She almost falls against the bag but finds her balance right at the last second, still doesn't stop the swoop in her stomach though.

She straightens herself back up, bounces around a little 'til she has her bearings straight again. Her mind shifts to the couple in the accident today and she wonders if they ever made it down to St. Catherines.

She's pretty sure she just about swallowed her tongue when the guy started rambling on about how they were going down there so he could meet his girlfriend's family. How they were going to be late and her family would probably hate him now.

Andy wonders not for the first time if Marlo knows about Sarah, has ever met her...

It's all a blur after that until Nick sticks his head in to wish her a good night and tell her she should probably start winding it down.

Andy looks up in a daze; the sweat dripping from her forehead as she checks the clock yet again. (Yep. Time's up.)

She doesn't have the breath to answer right away so she just nods and waves her thanks. Nick's brow furrows for a second before he returns the nod and escorts an irritated Gail down the hall. Apparently he wasn't the only one stuck with the paperwork for the day, and from the sounds of it, she definitely did not volunteer.

Andy grabs her towel from the bench and swipes at her forehead; she is NOT going to venture a glance at her reflection in the glass, does not need to look to know it ain't pretty.

She grabs the spray and some paper towel and gives the bag a quick wipe of its own before shutting off the lights and making her way to the locker room.

* * *

When she exits the shower, she feels almost a hundred percent better. Almost. Completely whole or completely perfect is not something she's quite been able to manage since she's been back. Still it's a step in the right direction.

She slides into her jeans and tank top, decides at the last minute to throw her academy hoodie on overtop too. It's going to be a bit of a hike to get where she wants to go so it's best she's prepared.

As she wraps her watch around her wrist, she takes another check of the time. She spent a little longer in the shower than she meant to, so instead of a quick bite at the Penny with her friends, it looks like she's on her own again – grab and go.

She slides her backpack on to her back and ducks out the nearest door. Has no idea if Sam is still there or not but thinks it's best if they don't run into each other. She figures he probably headed home early to change anyway, maybe get a shower…

She ducks into the first fast food place she sees. She's worked up a bit of an appetite. Needs to satisfy the hunger.

Though she probably has enough time, she doesn't sit and eat. There are a couple of small empty tables but for the most part the place is full of couples and families. Doesn't take long to figure it's just better to be out in the fresh air and moving.

She's about a block away when she checks her watch again. After giggling with Noelle about tonight's 'intervention', she assured her she would be there by seven o'clock so they could go through Olivia's routine before she and Frank had to leave.

She's got fifteen minutes to spare. But she doesn't take it.

Noelle ushers her in the door only a couple of seconds after she knocks, and passes Olivia off to her almost immediately before disappearing. She calls out some minor instructions from somewhere down the hall.

It's Frank that actually emerges first, but he doesn't say anything, just watches on as his daughter exchanges bright smiles with the young officer. He likes the relaxed look he sees on both of them, is pretty sure they'll both be fine. Is a little surprised at how much he wants that for McNally too, not just his own.

He feels Noelle's soft hand on his back and matches her easy smile as she slides past him.

"Let me show you where everything is," she offers Andy. "Frank?"

It's easy to see that that they make a good team. He's over to the girls in a couple of steps, grins again as he takes his little girl into his arms. Andy can't help but match his smile even if she doesn't want to let Olivia go.

Once Noelle's shown her around and given her a rundown of a typical night, she decides out loud that they better go. She doesn't say it, but she's pretty sure Sam's counting on them as a bit of a buffer tonight.

There's more than one sad face when they finally open up the door to go, but Noelle assures that everyone and everything is going to be just fine.

"We'll be fine," Andy makes herself agree as she picks up Olivia's little hand and waves it at her parents until the door closes behind them.

* * *

Marlo opens the door with a reasonably easy smile. Her eyes are fairly curious though. "Hey," she greets him, running a hand down his arm. "You didn't have to knock, you know?" Her voice is quieter than he's heard it most times before. "Frank and Noelle are already here."

Sam nods, holds out the bottle of wine he picked up on the way over. "Sorry I'm a little late…"

(He's not that sorry actually, he wanted to take some time alone at home to get his head in a space to be clear about tonight…be sociable…but also ready for what might happen _after_ the boss and Williams go home).

He catches the look of disappointment and confusion on Marlo's face as she realizes what he _hasn't_ brought with him tonight. "Not staying over?" she queries, her voice lower still.

"No…" Sam starts, considering sugar-coating things temporarily so the meal they share with Frank and Noelle isn't too frosty. In the end though, Sam figures the waters are muddy enough. "I'll stay for a while after, but then I need… I'd like to go home."

Marlo raises an eyebrow at him, a flush of some red crossing her cheeks. It's probably more than disappointment that she's experiencing right now. "Okay," she says, turning on her heel to lead them down the hallway. She doesn't say a whole lot more after that –

Sam figures she's thinking some things over. He's happy if that's the case. Maybe she'll sense what he feels; that things between them are at a point where it's move forward together, or forward apart. Maybe it will be obvious to her when he tells her which one of those he actually wants.

* * *

"Sammy!" Noelle beams, standing up from the table to greet him for the second time today. "Thought I'd arrive to watch you in action with the entrée."

Sam snorts, avoiding Noelle's eyes momentarily to hold out a hand for Frank to shake. "You know I'm not great in other people's kitchens," he replies eventually, reasonably light with his tone.

"_Pfft_," Noelle snorts back, that petulant tease she uses on Sam sometimes when he's trying to pull one over her. "Some would argue that point. I remember hearing about some tasty desserts that you helped to bake-"

Sam shoots a glare in her direction. Williams' capacity to not pull any punches may be one of the things he likes about her the most, but seemingly not when it's at his expense. "Burned a few things in that arena too," he huffs, perhaps more gruff than he'd like.

It appears that Noelle is about to let him off the hook momentarily. Despite the fact that her eyes narrow, she traps her mouth shut and sits back in her seat.

Frank looks between the pair of them, and then Cruz. Clearly the boss senses some tension at various angles in the room, and feels the need to diffuse the situation. "Well, I'm looking forward to what's on the menu tonight…"

* * *

She's not the best cook, Cruz. She tries, but she doesn't seem to quite grasp the concept of balancing flavours. She's cooked for Sam a few times, and he's eaten everything on the plate because of the effort she's put in…and it's not like nothing that was put in front him didn't taste good, it's just –

Generally speaking the dishes veered one way or the other. Too sweet, or too sour.

Still. It's not like Sam is a culinary genius. More often than not he uses way too much salt.

"Need me to help serve up?" Sam asks Marlo, looking around at the neat, orderly kitchen. It's not the first time he's felt a little out of place tonight, but he's not exactly sure why the organized space doesn't help him feel at ease, why the clean surfaces don't give him some sense of comfort…

If anything they actually make him _more_ disoriented, even though he has been in the house quite a few times. But for some reason, he just can't get it out of his head – it should be messier; shouldn't it?

She shakes her head, gesturing a hand toward the chair opposite Noelle. "Go take a seat. I've got everything under control."

* * *

She does too, in a way. Have everything under control, that is.

Entrée, main and dessert all come out with precision timing, not a beat missed between. He's not sure how she's managed to produce what she has in the couple of hours since she got off shift and went shopping, but she has.

Still. Sam wasn't wrong. Each course is slightly off-balance with flavours. The dominant theme for tonight's palate is something bordering on irritatingly sweet. She's tried to play to her strengths, which is not a bad thing; each of the Spanish dishes almost works. But not quite –

From the empanadas, to the paella, to the churros…things just get sweeter and sweeter, without much relief.

It matches the syrupy conversation at times. Everything far too polite. Any break in conversation is filled by Cruz, who appears to have at her disposal an endless array of SWAT squad stories –

Sam on the other hand spends far too much time talking all things Ninja, tries not to read too much into anything when Noelle mentions that 'their girl' looked a little sad when they left, like she might be missing out on something.

For what it's worth, Noelle and Frank nod along eagerly to the general conversation, answering all manner of questions about parenthood, as well as a few things about what's next for them. It's not easy work though, not for Sam anyway. He normally likes spending time with the boss and Noelle, but this is…

Different to what he's come to expect.

At one point he flinches severely, the touch of Marlo's hand on his knee taking him by surprise not long after dessert got served up. He feels pretty bad about it actually…

Mainly that he couldn't figure his shit out earlier. Couldn't figure out that his heart wasn't all the way in it. He's pretty damn annoyed, really. He may have enjoyed getting to know her, may have liked how easy things were at the start –

But, something has never felt quite right about going along for the ride.

Even before McNally got back –

He shakes his head, an attempt to clear his mind from wandering in that particular direction. He doesn't want to think about the jumble of thoughts he's got about her…them…

And definitely does not want to think about what she's doing right now.

* * *

Olivia smells amazing.

When Andy arrived almost an hour ago, Noelle had already taken care of all the formalities. Olivia was fed, bathed, powdered and dressed up in these cute little footsie pajamas. She was the picture of perfect.

And then when Noelle passed her over and Andy got a whiff, it was almost intoxicating. She couldn't wait to get her back from Frank when they had to leave.

She actually spends the better part of the first hour just breathing in every hint of that make your ovaries ache, can't find the snooze button on the biological clock, new baby smell that just unknots everything and makes it all right with the world.

She is just… it's hard to describe, but whatever it is Andy wants to bottle it all up for those nights when everything just feels too hard to deal with.

She snuggles Olivia in close and takes another deep breath. This time though, the little girl gets this look on her face and it's not a lot unlike the one her dad gets when Andy breaks out the Sam Swarek guide to coloring. It's the one that tells Andy that her choices might not be the best ones right now.

Andy huffs out a surprised chuckle when the look instantly morphs into an exact replica of Noelle… just about any time she has to deal with Dov. Andy knows without a doubt that her patience with her has run out.

She smiles as she lays a blanket out onto the floor and then the little girl. She really is the perfect combination of both of her parents.

Andy kneels down right at Olivia's feet and rests an elbow on either side of the little girl, propping herself up so she's directly above her at eye level. Andy chuckles softly at the look Olivia is giving her right now; clearly she got that one from her mother too.

Andy smiles big at the little girl before she covers up her face with her hands and hides it for a few seconds. When she lets her hands swing open, she utters a quiet, "peeeek."

Olivia narrows her eyes, watching intently as Andy quickly covers her face up once again… and waits.

This time Andy slides her hands out to the side to reveal her smiling face, offers Olivia up another "peeeeek." This time a little bit louder.

The little girl appears to be slightly bemused by Andy, like she wants to smile but isn't quite sure about it. She's definitely not looking away though.

Andy conceals her face and eyes with her hands once again, but this time she doesn't hold them there, just drops them to the little girl's tummy with a startling "BOO!"

Eyes wide, Olivia's reaction is full on dimples and giggles.

Andy's, on the other hand, is not.

In fact she's already got herself pushed up and done with the game. And her eyes are even wider than Olivia's right now as she tries her best to slow her racing heart.

It takes her a few seconds and more than one deep breath, but she finally gets herself under control. She shakes her head. It's stupid really because everything went according to plan. Olivia was supposed to giggle and she was supposed to smile…

but there was the dimples and the BOO and... it just ends up being a lot more than Andy bargained for.

She quickly slides an activity centre over so that it's now directly above Olivia and thankfully she immediately starts to reach for the brightly coloured animals hanging above her. Her small padded feet start to kick and the dimples once again dance in her perfectly rounded cheeks.

Andy can't help herself as she traces the outline of the tiny little indentations. She doesn't even know she's crying 'til a drop hits her outstretched arm. She shakes her head furiously as she swipes away the possibility of any further tears… and any thoughts of what the future may or may not hold.

When Olivia starts to fuss a few minutes later, Andy takes a peek up at the clock on the stove. (The girl knows her schedule.)

She lifts the toy out of the way and then scoops Olivia up into her arms, tries to be discreet as she takes another slow deep breath on their way to the kitchen. She shifts Olivia onto her hip when she pulls open the refrigerator door and reaches for a bottle.

She's got it set up to warm before she ventures down the hall for one last change; Olivia's not crying but she's also not a happy camper. Thankfully, by the time they get back to the kitchen, the bottle is ready and waiting because the little girl is already reaching for it.

Andy doesn't have the heart to make her wait. Hands it over as soon as she's tested it.

Olivia snuggles herself into Andy's chest and is suckling quietly before they even make it back to the hallway. As Andy settles into the rocking chair in the corner of the nursery, she takes another deep breath and closes her eyes. The warmth in her chest is almost indescribable. It's not like she hasn't ever thought about it; she even made a joke about it to Sam once. But for the first time… she feels like she can actually picture it.

A single tear makes a slow trail down the side of her face.

* * *

"Everything okay over there, Swarek?" Noelle enquires with some eyebrows up high. She drags the plate of churros from out of his reach, and picks up one for herself. "You look as though you might've had enough," she says casually, dipping the winding dessert into chocolate.

Sam catches the wide-eyed stare Frank gives his partner, and also spots the look of confusion on Cruz. "Yeah, pretty much," Sam mutters in reply eventually. "It's probably time to let some things digest."

* * *

"Thanks so much for tonight, Cruz," Frank says, patting Marlo on the arm and giving her a warm smile at the door an hour after they've finished up with dinner.

Noelle grins as well; despite the fact she's been on Sam's case like a terrier, she's been nothing short of friendly to Cruz. "Always good to exercise the baby brain with some intelligent adult conversation." Williams puts a hand out and pats at Sam's cheek. "Maybe that means next time we'll leave Swarek with the baby, really let loose."

Sam chokes out a laugh, shaking his head at his good friend and colleague. He resolves to pay her back at a later date – for better or worse.

* * *

"That was nice," Marlo says warmly, looking Sam up and down. She's got her back up against the front door having just closed it, doesn't look like she'll let Sam out any time soon. "They're…nice."

Sam nods, puts his hands in his pockets and wonders how to take the next step. "They're good friends to me," he replies slowly. "They've been through a lot…"

Marlo smiles small at him, nodding in return. She trawls her eyes over Sam's form, arches her back enough for him to know what she might want.

"I can't do this," he says suddenly; voice a whole lot calmer than what he thought it might be. There's no pre-emptive warning, no warm up, no _nothing_ that might make this easy on her. "I…I'm sorry…" he says, averting his eyes from hers for a few seconds while he feels like a jerk.

"What…?"

When he looks back at Marlo's face, she is confused. To the point where he wonders whether any one has ever broken up with her. To the point where he wonders whether she has ever_ not _got what she wants.

Sam takes his hands out of his pockets. He genuinely likes this woman. He respects her a lot. He wants to _try_ and do this properly, hopes they can salvage something out of the things they actually do have in common. "Can we…" he says, hitching a thumb over his shoulder. "Can we sit down for a bit?"

Marlo nods, still shell-shocked. She walks forward eventually, leads Sam into the dark of the lounge room and then turns on a light.

Sam waits until she's seated, sits himself beside her but a cushion away. He wrings at his hands and looks to his knees for some help. He practiced the speech on the way over here in the truck, but only remembers three or four words. Still, he thinks he does okay, all things considered. He's pretty sure he relays his point:

"When we started this thing up…I thought we agreed. I thought we both wanted casual, no strings attached."

"We _did_," she agrees, a light edge of terse in her voice. "But I didn't expect that after almost two months of 'casual', we'd get stuck in that spot."

Sam nods. He concedes the point, has been down this path with relationships before. He wants to keep things light and easy and under control…they want to take the next step. It's probably reasonable too, that someone would want to do that. It's just…

It's always been a hard step for Sam to take, trusting someone like that. Letting people further into his life than what is comfortable…or even letting himself too far into theirs….

"I'm sorry," he says quietly, putting his face in his palms. "I told you what I was coming out of….I don't want to head into something…."

"So. Are you saying, if we keep things casual…?" Marlo interjects, swivelling her body his way.

Sam shakes his head. "No." He's annoyed with himself for confusing the point. "No, Marlo. I want to end it…I want to end whatever this thing is that we've got going on."

She snorts at him, laughing as she throws back her head. "We were becoming a couple, Sam." She raises her voice further. "God. We've been getting to know one another, we've been spending time together, having fun…"

"Okay…I get it," he cuts her off, scrubbing one hand all the way from his face to his chest. "That's what we were…but I never wanted any more than that…it's not working for me…we're not…. right…" He catches his breath for a second, determined to slow his roll down. Make this make sense.

"I like you, I respect you, I think you're a great person, a great cop….but I just don't want this…I don't want an _us_." Sam is still talking at a rapid fire pace and in circles despite his best efforts, it's completely not who he is. But he just wants to get the message through to her, make her see what he's getting at here.

"This is about _her_, isn't it?" Marlo is definitely growing angrier by the minute; she's practically up on her feet and standing over him now. "God!" she half-shouts, some tears in her eyes. "You told me it was in the past…"

"It was," Sam interrupts, focussing on keeping his voice level. "It is." The words tear something inside of him as he says them. He bites his lip as he thinks about 'buttoning' everything he and Andy had up like that, but it is the truth. He may still have feelings for her, may still be in love with her for godsake…but as far as he knew, it _was _over. As far as he _knows_, it_ is_ over. "But I…I guess... I do still have feelings for her…"

He doesn't know why he makes the confession. He doesn't mean to hurt Marlo by letting loose words that might lead her to compare herself to Andy…

"Look," he makes another attempt at keeping things calm and as clear as he can. "Everything about me…about McNally…about us…it's complicated." He huffs out a laugh, sad at the thought that if the situation with Andy never gets resolved, a whole lot of people are going to get very hurt…most of all them. "Okay. Andy coming back has…has me trying to resolve some things…but this…you and me…it's not her fault. How I feel about you…or her…or what I do or don't want…I can't help it, okay?"

Sam swallows, sucks in some air. He holds out a hand to rub down Cruz's shoulder, an attempt to comfort her, but she brushes him off. "I'm sorry that I've hurt you, Marlo. It was wrong of me to keep _trying_ to be and do some things that I'm not." He licks at his lips, blinks his eyes against the force of empathy he feels for Cruz as things come to an end. "I do hope we can be good friends and colleagues," he says gently, hands back in his pockets. "I hope you can see how hard I've thought about this."

She looks up at him, expression glazing over as she sucks in her cheeks and tries a fake tiny smile. "Sure. Sure." She clears her throat. "Probably best that you leave now, Sam. I don't want to say anything I might regret at some other point."

She walks past him, leading them back in the direction of the front door. Holds the thing open and gives him a light pat on the shoulder as he makes his way out. "Sam…" she calls out when he's down from the stoop.

Sam turns around, looking back up at her. "Yeah?"

"I know you're confused right now…I know you've got a lot going on…but for what it's worth, I'm a patient woman."

Sam's brow furrows, as he considers whether he needs to come out with words that leave no room for anything, ever, even friendship between them. He lets it go, mainly because he knows she's feeling angry and hurt right now. He trusts that she's a grown up, she's experienced. One thing he does know about her is that she's resilient. She's been through tougher times than a break up of a casual relationship. Tomorrow morning she will be resolved to moving on with her life.

"And I think we'd make a great team."

Sam opens his mouth to respond, there's really only one team he can see himself part of. But decides in the end that he just needs to get going. He needs to leave her alone to process this, and he needs to be alone too. "Bye, Cruz," he holds a hand up in a farewell salute eventually.

He turns on his heel after she raises an arm to wave as well, practically jogs to the truck. He gets inside the safety of the cabin, turns on the engine, and turns up some heat.

He also turns on the radio, gets some music up loud so he can clear his head before the next round of thinking begins.

* * *

Marlo watches the tail lights of Sam's truck disappear into the night.

If she's perfectly honest with herself, she should have seen this coming. _Did_ see this coming-

What started out as an easy friendship and having a good time, has ebbed into her working a little harder for his attention this past couple of weeks.

Still. She's somewhere in the vicinity of shocked and pissed off right now –

She's a little gobsmacked actually. Can't believe that Sam would even consider that they wouldn't work out. They're similar in so many ways…

And the fact that he's still caught up on McNally is just plain ridiculous. The rookie may be pretty, but from what Marlo has seen, she's got a whole lot to learn.

She walks back inside and pours herself a glass of wine, takes some time in the kitchen to reflect on tonight (and the past couple of months). Eventually, she decides to grant Sam a pass. Of course the guy is confused right now…God only knows what seeds McNally might have planted into his brain since she's been back.

Whatever the case, Marlo is convinced that they had a good thing going, that all signs pointed to something that could be better than any relationship she's had before.

She nods to herself and decides to have one last bash at it, show Sam what she's all about and… do something that will show him he is missing out if he goes down this path.

Marlo is resolved –

Tomorrow she will _fight_ for what she wants.

* * *

Andy has no idea how much time has passed when she finally lays the little girl down in her crib. She's almost surprised when she looks at her watch.

She's guessing that Frank and Noelle will be home shortly, but she can't quite decide if it's better if they get home early or late, doesn't want to think about the implications either way.

She eases the door to almost closed as she backs out of the room and heads down the hallway. She switches on the TV as she flops down onto the couch; she's got her head resting against the arm of the sofa when she starts to surf her way through the channels.

Her finger stalls for a second when the tail end of the The Parent Trap flashes up on the screen. She remembers watching it the year her mother left, remembers wishing more than anything that there was some way she could get her parents back together.

She finds it more than a little ironic that it's fifteen years later and she still wonders if it's possible for people to find their way back to each other. Really, really hopes that it is.

When she hears the key in the lock, she quickly flips the TV off and swipes at a stubborn tear before jumping to her feet. She's in the kitchen rinsing out her glass and splashing cold water on her face when she hears Noelle call out for her.

* * *

"How was she?" Noelle greets Andy, putting her bag on the table.

Andy wipes her hands and steadies her breathing before she turns to face her colleague properly. "She's the best," Andy can't help but smile softly as she says it.

Noelle grins back at Andy; it takes her a few seconds to catch up with the pun, but when she does Andy's cheeks flush pink and she can't help the giggle that escapes her mouth. (Truer words apparently…)

The baby may have had some expectations, but meeting them was a walk in the park compared to the pressure Andy puts on herself most days. "How was dinner?"

Noelle walks further into the kitchen, puts the kettle on and pulls out a few cups. She turns and grins at Andy, gives her a friendly wink; "You askin' because you want to know if Frank and I had a good time, or whether Sammy did?"

Andy lowers her gaze and blushes. Noelle's tone was far from mean or annoyed, it was honest and curious, with a hint of a tease. She meets Noelle's eyes again eventually, hears Frank enter the room. She decides she might as well see the light in her situation, raises her eyebrow and gives Noelle a lopsided smirk in return. "A little of both?"

Noelle grins bigger then. "Have a cup of tea with us, McNally, and then Frank will drive you home."

* * *

Frank and Noelle's recap of dinner is hard going on Andy in some respects, but it also leaves her feeling…like maybe all is not lost.

Frank is reasonably quiet, focusing more on the leaves of his tea. Every now and then though, he contributes to the story, emphasising a point that Noelle has just made.

Andy admires the fact that the couple maintains a respectful balance between what is and is not appropriate to be said given the whole sorry saga that is currently Andy and Sam. They don't, for example, bitch and gripe about Marlo's apparent lack of cooking skills. Instead, they highlight how deft and organized she was in the kitchen, but that some of the food wasn't quite to their taste.

When it comes to relaying conversations and behaviour, they tell Andy that they always love catching up with Sam outside of work, and that they also enjoyed getting to know Marlo a little bit better. The woman certainly sounds as though she's had some interesting experiences, professionally at least.

It's not until they're washing the cups up that Noelle imparts some key observations and her not-so-gentle wisdom; "Sammy was definitely struggling with some things on his plate," she tells Andy conversationally. "Aside the times he was enjoying stories about Olivia, he seemed a little lost in his thoughts."

Andy hangs up the tea towel she was just holding. She lets the words sink in and wonders what type of things might've been on Sam's mind. She's annoyed that her heart rate picks up immediately, this sense of hope and anxiety in equal amounts. Maybe he's realizing that his relationship with Cruz is not what he wants…

But then she remembers that Sam is probably staying overnight, and maybe those thoughts (and any concerns that he does have) will be released in a way Andy can't even begin to –

"Time and space, McNally." Noelle interrupts the downward spiral Andy is headed toward. "No doubt you yourself have come to learn that, like the rest of us, Sam _isn't_ the savant he may have actually appeared to be on those two things."

Andy raises her eyebrows; curious as to the depth of personal conversations Sam and Noelle may have had in the past.

"None of us are experts, Andy," Noelle continues. "But what I can tell you is that I've seen him _trying_ some different approaches lately. I think he knows himself that some of his previous and current methods haven't worked."

Andy looks back down to the lino, reflecting on the fact that for as much as she hasn't liked the _ways _that Sam has tried to change, she can't really say that she's got it right either. She raises her eyes again slowly, sees Noelle and Frank both staring back. She doesn't really know how to respond in the moment, other than to nod her head in understanding.

It does get her thinking some more though –

The drive home with Frank is a quiet one, save for the soft music playing on the radio. The distance of the drive gives her time to consider whether she should just try talking to Sam again…

Maybe…she can pluck up the courage…tell him that if there is definitely _no _chance for them _ever_, she will do whatever it takes, assuming he will, at just working on being good colleagues and friends –

Because if it's one thing that Andy _does_ know with every part of her being: It's that she doesn't want to lose him for good.

Andy peers out the side window into the dark neighbourhood, realizes that for some reason Frank's taken the long way around. She shrugs it off after a second, figures he's in the know about traffic and incidents, every hour of his day.

Her heart starts to race again though when she realizes the street they're on now. This is Sam's neighbourhood, and when they pass his house, she is surprised by two things at least; she spots his truck parked out front immediately, and as she looks up to his house, one single light…the light of his kitchen is shining back at her…like some beacon of hope.

Andy feels her cheeks flush with the mere thought of the possibility that he's not laying in bed with Cruz right now. But still, it's confusing, because there are so many reasons as to why him _not_ being with Marlo right now might be the case.

She wishes like crazy that she could tell Frank to stop, and then she'd go knock on Sam's door…ask him why the hell he's at home –

But. Andy knows that is ridiculous, after all she doesn't want to look like a complete lovesick fool in front of her boss. She also knows…or hopes at least…that this is Sam trying yet another approach…a type of time and space that doesn't crush Andy's heart.

* * *

"Thanks for the ride," Andy says softly as Frank pulls up outside her apartment a little while later.

Frank looks over at her, cutting the engine but leaving his parking lights on. "I'll wait down here until you switch on your lights."

Andy nods, understands his concern over past traumatic events. "As soon as I open the door…"

Frank smiles small, continuing with his own bobbing head. "Sleep well, McNally. Tomorrow, I'm expecting to see that Lion's Heart you're famous for."

* * *

Sam doesn't often drink hot drinks late at night.

But for some reason, this evening he had an urge to sip slowly at some tea. He rubs his thumb over the rim of the cup he's holding, annoyed with himself that the first one he reached for is the one McNally used to use all the time.

He closes his eyes and breathes out once or twice.

Breaking things off with Cruz was neither easy nor hard. It was difficult because he knows it was messy, he works with her for godsake. They're going to have to learn to get past the awkwardness as quick as they can, be professional and friendly at least. By the same token, tonight for the first time in a while, Sam feels a little more like himself –

He is confident in being alone with his thoughts, can breathe without worrying what someone else might expect out of him.

Still. It's not to say he's skipping along easy street here. His jumble of thoughts contain a whole lot of McNally, and every expression she's ever had on her face.

He has no idea _why_ he can't just get over her. They're undeniably incapable of being together, no matter how one or the other might feel –

He thinks back to that night at the bar, the heartbreak he felt when he (thought) she'd sent a message through her non-appearance: _no going back_.

He shakes his head, angry with himself now. Why couldn't he read her mind back then? Why couldn't he hold on to that tiny smile she gave him before he left her at the station? Why couldn't he be inside her head over this past 6 months?

All Sam can think now is that they both suck at transmitting and receiving messages, and he doesn't even know what to do about that.

As he takes his shirt off to get into bed and stare at the ceiling a while longer, he resolves himself to another round of trying. Yes, trying to be friendly, professional, and with a new set of boundaries with Cruz. Yes, trying to be a better detective. But more importantly: Yes, trying to read signs better, especially when they come from the person he loves.

* * *

_Up next: Gloves on, gloves off, gloves on...?_


	3. Roll with the Punches

_A/N thanks for continuing to read! It appears that this chapter (or should we say: round?) is another long one. Hope you enjoy!_

* * *

**Co-written** with **dcj**

**Disclaimer: We do not own Rookie Blue**

* * *

_**'Roll with the Punches'**_

_"The hero and the coward both feel the same thing, but the hero uses his fear, projects it onto his opponent, while the coward runs. It's the same thing, fear, but it's what you do with it that matters."—Cus D'Amato_

* * *

Sam is up and about early the next morning. He is methodical in his approach to the new day. He goes for his run earlier than usual, even takes a new track. It's a little cooler than he hoped it might be, but his stretches have helped. The sun _is _there, but it's still very low. Every now and again he looks into it, squinting, but wanting to make the most of the warmth that it washes over his face.

He'd be lying if he said he wasn't tempted to call McNally; ask her if she wanted to grab a coffee…maybe a ride to work. It's not –

It's not that he wants to…try and win her affections again, or anything of the sort. It's just –

He's resolved to try and repair some of the things that are broken between them. Her trust, her respect, her friendship…

Even something as small as the fun they used to have.

He misses their teasing, their banter, and their camaraderie. He misses the professional partnership too. Andy McNally may have been his rookie, but really…

From day one, that time she tackled him…he knew she was always a class above that.

He wants to make it clear to her that no matter what happens from hereon in between them; he _does_ trust her instincts. He wants her to know that he genuinely believes she's one hell of a good cop.

He also wants to emphasise the fact that he's so…so sorry that he hurt her first time around.

(On reflection, he thinks that maybe the night in the truck when they agreed to part ways, he may have been so focused on his own sorry ass that he forgot to stress…that it wasn't all bad…far from it….and any parts that weren't great…well, he played a big role in that being the case.)

What Sam wants, more than anything, is for her to smile at him again. He wants her not to feel awkward around him, or angry, or guilty…or anything else. He just wants her happy. He always has. And if it means he has to do better at being a 'friend' or 'colleague' or 'ex-boyfriend', he will do it…

Because he cares about her...

He loves her...

No matter what.

Sam knows that there's a possibility that, as a couple, they might be over for good. He knows there's been a whole lot of pain that might never be fixed. But. He is determined –

He will fight tooth and nail to make sure she knows, that in whatever capacity they agree on –

He wants to be the one that has her back…always.

* * *

When Andy's alarm starts beeping the next morning, she groans… loudly, not quite ready to give up the bliss that was the last few hours. It's not that she had gotten home late; in fact, she was in bed well before midnight.

She just wasn't able to fall asleep… at least not right away.

She remembers her mind playing and replaying every detail Noelle had given her about the night, trying to assign meaning to every little thing. And then she had started thinking about his truck being at home and the light being on and what that might have meant… or not meant.

And shortly after that the 'what if's' came - What if he and Cruz did break it off? What if Andy told him she still loved him? But what if they didn't? What if it didn't matter either way?

She remembers struggling over that last one for a long time until somewhere deep into the night a sense of peace came. She distinctly recalls it washing over her as if she finally found the last piece to an almost impossible puzzle. And it felt…right.

Until she woke this morning and it seemed to just fade away… like maybe it was all just a dream.

"Uggh!" Andy pulls the pillow from the other side of the bed and shoves it down over her face as she screams into it. She really needs to just get through this day in one piece. Get beyond the fight and then take stock.

Because even if they did break up last night, that doesn't mean Sam is ready to move on with her. She doesn't know if he would even want to. And there's no way she is going to be a rebound. Not with Sam. She needs to wait, be patient. (God, she really hated time and space.)

After a few more minutes of wallowing, she throws the pillow from her face and the covers from her body. She thinks about going to the gym, hitting the bag again. She doesn't really feel like she needs the practice, she just likes the idea of losing herself in some kind of activity, anything really.

In the end, she decides to go for a run instead, just pop in her ear buds and crank the music up loud while she pounds it out. If she times it right, she won't even need to come back home. She can point herself in the right direction and just clean up when she gets there.

So she plans her route, tries to remember if she has an extra set of clothes in her locker. Figures if she doesn't, she can borrow something from Traci, shoots off a quick text to her friend to see if she can bring a change for her.

She gets the 'I got you covered' text back in record time. Grabs her phone, keys and water and stuffs them into a runner's pack and she`s good to go.

* * *

The air's a little cool this morning, so after a few quick stretches, she starts off slow, eases herself into it. Waits till she's a few blocks in before she lengthens her stride, starts to let herself go.

As she gets into a rhythm, the music almost fades into the background and her mind drifts back to last night… and that incredible feeling of peace. And she doesn't know if it's the endorphins or the pounding that's shaking everything loose or the way her heart's just starting to really beat, but it comes back to her. She made a decision last night.

And the more she thinks about it, the more right she knows it is. Maybe, just maybe, this isn't about fighting each other. Oliver said it himself; he was a lover not a fighter. And maybe that's what she needs to do too. (The best defence…)

Focus on the good, what she _can_ have, not battle for what she _can't_. Maybe she just needs to concentrate on being a good friend and colleague right now. And not look at it as settling. But look at it as something worth having… something worth building… because it is. And maybe just maybe, everything will fall into place.

So maybe she needs to do whatever it takes because she does not want to lose him, has actually spent the better part of the last two weeks doing just that...letting him go. She realizes the only thing stopping her from having Sam in her life is her.

She needs to stop avoiding him and Marlo. She needs to suck it up. She wants Sam in her life. So if that means accepting Marlo then so be it. She misses him, misses everything about him – talking to him, working with him, laughing with him, _flirting_ with him, the way he can always make her…

She shakes her head. Right now, she just needs to work on enjoying whatever they _can_ have. And if that means she has to go through Cruz, she will. The woman will just have to get used to it because Andy is not going anywhere and she is not going to sit by and watch him slip away.

Andy's grinning; for the first time since she and Sam had the talk, she actually feels hopeful. Just the thought of being back in his life no matter how small is enough for her right now. And it's something to look forward to.

_'Can we just… try to be friends?'_

Her pace picks up, trying its best to match her outlook, and pretty soon she's almost sprinting towards the station. She really just cannot wait to get there.

Cruz better be ready because Andy certainly is.

* * *

When she reaches the parking lot, she slows to a stop, doubles over and sucks in some air. Her legs are heavy and her heart is beating double time, but she feels good. Really, really good.

She takes a few deep, slowing breaths, pulls the small bottle of water from her pack and downs half of it in one go. She puts the container on the ground as she slides her fingers through to grip the chain link fence surrounding the lot. She uses the fence as balance while she stretches things out a little. Wants to stay loose, doesn't want anything to tighten up on her.

When she releases the fence, she bends to pick up her water and finishes the rest of it as she moves forward.

When she walks through the door, she's grinning. It's not something she's done a whole lot of lately, especially around the barn so she gets more than a few errant looks. But she doesn't register any of them; her eyes are too busy scanning the pit.

* * *

Two cups of coffee later, Sam pulls a third and a fourth.

The station is quiet at this time of the morning, but he's done some intel…he knows McNally is due on shift soon.

He decides not to interrupt her in the gym this morning, if that's where she is. Decides he's probably not quite up to facing the fact that it's Collins she's still training with. But maybe he can catch her just before Parade, offer a friendly gesture and make sure she knows that he wants her to have a good shift.

* * *

It doesn't take long for Andy to spot him; he's over by the coffee machine.

Her eyes light up even more.

He turns almost immediately, like he senses her there. Her heart starts picking up that double time rhythm again. She always knows when he comes in a room, kind of likes the idea that maybe he can feel the same. Like that connection is there for him too.

She grants him her biggest smile and waves happily before she turns to the locker room to have her shower. She doesn't wait for the bemused wave he throws back at her.

* * *

As Sam watches her turn and leave, a spring in her step, he's wondering what's put the smile on her face. She didn't come from the direction of the gym, so…

He notices she was in her running gear. Maybe that's it; after all, the endorphins have helped _him_ this morning.

Sam can't help but smile as he watches her continue to where she's headed. He likes seeing her like this –

He spends a little more time lost in his thoughts in that spot, stirs the coffee slowly and genuinely considers following McNally. He shakes his head, realizing that's ridiculous. She's going to the women's locker room, clearly. She's about to get showered and dressed. What's he going to do? Walk in there while she's half naked because all of a sudden he wants to be better at being a 'friend' –

"Hey, buddy," Oliver breaks Sam out of his reverie, a splash of coffee being barely contained in the cup because of the way Shaw just smacked at his shoulder. "One of those caffeines for me?"

Sam smacks Ollie's hand away, gives his friend a bit of a frown. "No," he says sharply, not wanting to give anything away as to _whom_ the second coffee _was_ for. "You better get a move on," Sam continues a little petulantly. He really does not want to get stuck here with whatever pearls of wisdom his buddy might want to share this morning. Sam is already resolved. "You'll be late for parade."

"Ah-huh," Oliver agrees, nodding his head and scratching his chin. "I guess me asking how that dinner party went can wait until a little later today…"

Sam gives Shaw a warning glare. He doesn't have time to dissect everything that happened last night. Besides, if he gets caught up with Oliver, he might miss McNally when she happens to walk back in this direction –

"You're a busy man, I know." Oliver puts his hands up, but gives Sam a knowing smirk. "But we're not done, buddy…we're not done at all…"

With that, Oliver leaves Sam alone with his thoughts again. He breathes in deeply, wonders how long the coffees he just made will stay warm.

* * *

Cruz is fresh out of the shower when Andy comes in; still breathing hard from the path she put herself on this morning.

Cruz eyes her up a little, wonders if McNally put in the same efforts to win she did this morning.

Andy takes a deep breath, convinces herself that she can do this, that she needs to do this. "Morning," she practically sings, offers the other woman a welcoming smile.

Apparently though that was not the greeting that Marlo was expecting, the frown on her face is more than testament to that.

But Andy tries not to let her smile falter, just spins back to open her locker and go about her business. She sets her pack on the top shelf, slides out her towel and toiletries and then takes a step back to close the door.

She can feel Cruz' eyes studying her, but she's not going to let her get to her, plants a content smile firmly on her face.

"You know you've still got a fight on your hands right?" Cruz is practically growling as she wrestles roughly with the buttons on her shirt. "Surely you don't expect me to let you just step right in and walk all over me."

Andy's eyes widen a little, but she's made up her mind and won't let Marlo throw her off her game. (No distractions, Nick said.)

"I try not to let expectations get the better of me these days," Andy throws back at her, but then she takes a deep breath to rein herself in. "I know it's not going to be quick and I know it's not going to be easy, but I'm just hoping for the best."

Marlo stares at her for a couple of really long seconds before she pulls out her brush, spins on her heel and is around the corner to a mirror without another word.

Andy's brow furrows in confusion but she refuses to let herself get caught up in the drama. She's sticking to her guns, knows in her gut that she's got it right. She grins again as she decides on the perfect first step.

Doesn't stop grinning for the whole shower.

* * *

Traci walks in just in time to see a satisfied smile spread over Andy's face; it's kind of surprising seeing as she just saw Cruz walk out only a couple minutes before she came in. "You're awfully chipper," she greets her friend.

Andy reaches out for the bag Traci has in her hand, assumes it's for her. She shrugs her shoulders once real quick as she tosses the clothes into the bottom of her locker for later. "No reason not to be."

Traci's eyes narrow as she scans the entire room for any bloodshed. "Well, I know you didn't off her in the shower."

"No," Andy chuckles at her friend; loves her that much more for just being her, "She is definitely alive and kicking."

Traci has no doubt about the kicking part, but the change in her friend - that definitely brings up some questions. "So what's up then?"

"Nothing," Andy assures her. "It just feels like it's going to be a good day."

Traci's not quite convinced, keeps a close eye on her friend as she readies herself into the last of her uniform. She doesn't say a word, just waits and watches. It doesn't take long.

"Hey, do you think you guys can get away for lunch today?"

Traci's eyebrows shoot up nice and high. (So that's what's up.) "**US** guys?

"Yeah, you and Sam," Andy confirms as nonchalantly as she can right now. See, she doesn't want Traci to make a big deal of it… even though they both know exactly how big of a deal it is. And that high pitch in her voice at the end kind of gives her away a little anyway.

Still, good friend that she is, Traci doesn't call her out on it. Kind of just wants to see how it all plays out. Truth be told, she would love nothing more than to help Andy with whatever she's got up her sleeve… but after yesterday she knows it's not likely.

She purses her lips before she shakes her head in apology. "This case is really kicking us in the ass, Andy. If it's anything like yesterday…"

"How about I bring you something," Andy interjects; she's on a mission. "My treat."

"You're making it really hard to resist."

Andy makes her way to the mirror, starts fussing with her hair as Traci turns to leave. (That's what she's counting on.)

* * *

"Sam," he hears a voice behind him.

He turns on his heel, careful with the two _new _hot coffee's placed in his palm. "Hey," Sam smiles small, and god does he feel out of his depth. _Be professional, polite, friendly, but firm,_ he reminds himself. "Uh, Marlo, how…how are you?"

Cruz smiles back at him, not quite the shiny thing he's used to with her. "Good, I'm good….Focused on what will be a big day and night."

Sam nods, swallows a lump as he considers for the first time that maybe, just maybe, the recent…women…in his life will take out their frustrations about him on one another. "Yeah," he replies quietly. "Busy shift at work – and then the _charity_ fight…" He almost rolls his eyes at himself, his voice at a pitch that gives away some of his nerves.

"I take it you're coming to watch?" she asks, her own voice almost irritatingly calm.

Sam nods. "Yep," he smiles. "Boss'd kill me if I didn't donate for the cause."

"Oh yeah?" She quirks an eyebrow, staring him down like some smiling assassin. Sam can't quite put his finger on her expectation of him at the moment, but something isn't sitting quite right. "Who's your money on?"

And, well. If Sam could punch a bag now, he would. Cannot believe he's walked into this trap –

"Swarek!"

Sam makes a mental note to thank Nash profusely later. He'll offer to babysit Leo for the next year, that's the very minimum of what her little interruption is worth.

His partner has entered the room from roughly the same direction as Marlo did, gives him a lazy grin like she _knows_ she's just thrown him a buoy. "That coffee for me?"

Sam nods slowly, says some Hail Mary's for all that it's worth. "We, uh. Gotta get to it early," he explains to Cruz as a form of goodbye, one cup pointed in the direction of Nash. "Have a good shift."

If he could, he'd run up the stairs to his office. Pretty much does. He butts the coffee in Nash's direction as she follows him and gives her a quick smile. "Thanks," he mumbles – even though he's the one handing out coffee.

Nash practically laughs in his face. She takes a sip of it immediately; he notices the confusion cross over her face as she takes the cup away from her lips. "You know I don't take my coffee like this," she says cool as a cucumber –

Sam is defenceless, and he knows it. Realizes that Nash actually knows how _every_ goddamn person at 15 takes their coffee….

She raises her eyebrow, and nudges him into their office. "Your girlfriend mind you tending to your _ex_-girlfriend's caffeine-related needs?"

Sam sets his jaw firm, shakes his head and tries to hold in a laugh. "If you're referring to whether Cruz minds the fact that I made McNally a coffee this morning, I don't really care."

He turns to his desk, head down right after he makes the statement. Bites his tongue and curses himself. He managed to maintain his stoic front with Shaw, only to let a pretty big piece of information slip to Nash.

He huffs out a breath, unaware of the wide-eyed stare and sucked in cheeks of his partner who continues to lurk behind him. "Nash," he says, warning tone in place. "This case won't solve itself."

* * *

Traci doesn't know whether to gasp, or nod her head. She's still trying to wrap her brain around the fact that Sam just delivered a statement that could mean….

Well. It could mean anything, she supposes. But there's definitely something about his demeanour this morning that's different. Not only his words.

He looks confident and focused, determined almost.

He keeps his cards close to his chest though, always has. But if Traci was a betting woman, she might place money on him having broken things off with Cruz. She would also suspect that the one he keeps closest to his chest, tucked right up against his heart… might just become a little clearer.

* * *

"McNally!" Oliver chirps, a hand on Andy's shoulder as the troops make their way to parade. "I see you have the good fortune of being partnered with me again today."

Andy looks over her shoulder, a bright smile still planted on her face. She's already resolved to Oliver continuing to impart his wisdom, but she's in a much better place for it this time around –

Andy doesn't need anyone to tell her how she feels about Sam, or advocate his or her case. But she does realize she could use her support networks if she's going to work out how to be Sam's good friend. She nods to herself, determined. "Actually," she says, taking a seat at the back with her riding partner. "I think you got the better end of the bargain today." She smiles at his confused expression. "I'm springing for lunch."

Oliver's grin goes extra cheesy and he pats a gentle hand on her back. "I see we're finally getting somewhere, McNally. Can I choose where we go?"

Andy shakes her head, teasing. Keeps her eyes focused to the front of the room, watching the conversation that's happening between Frank and the detectives. She's interested to know whether they will actually be working from the office, and whether Traci has had the chance to drop any hints to Sam about lunch. "No," she replies casually. "We're gonna double date with the D's."

She doesn't have to turn her face to know Oliver's newest expression is priceless. She also doesn't have to move her line of vision to catch the nod of his head. "Well then," he chuckles, mouth wide open. "I'll pitch in with dessert."

* * *

Oliver's eyes are bouncing between Sam and Andy. He is itching to rub his hands together, excited by what seem to be some new developments. First, Sammy blatantly ignores an inquisition about how things went last night, and now…

McNally looks the happiest she has since she got back. And the last time she looked like this –

Well. Swarek may have been responsible for breaking her heart last year, but he was also the reason for a whole lot of times she had that mega-watt smile.

Oliver can't quite figure out what's going on, can't imagine Sam would go running to McNally the minute things changed with Cruz…

But then again, when it comes to this pair…

Who ever really knows.

* * *

On the other side of the room, Marlo keeps a close watch on Sam. She remains still in her seat beside another senior officer, throws the occasional glance McNally's way.

She can't help the fact that her ego is bruised. Can't help that she feels hurt that Sam may have dumped her and left her last night, only to go straight into the arms of McNally.

She huffs a quiet breath. Who is he kidding? If she's not mistaken, it seems the two have been nothing short of disastrous when they're together. For godsake, she heard the stories when she was with SWAT; Sam Swarek was nearly killed because of his feelings for his rookie –

Surely, he hasn't forgotten about that. Or what happened since –

She barely manages to keep a furious blush under control. How the hell can Sam _not _choose her over some wide-eyed little girl that obviously has no idea what she wants? Marlo is confident within herself, attractive, fun to be around, and very…very good at her job.

She takes another look at McNally, is irritated by the smile she's sending to the front of the room. She peers back at Sam, who at least has the decency to be more focused on whatever Frank's saying to him…

She doesn't miss the quick glance he gives McNally though, doesn't miss the small smile on his face.

She is confused for a moment about what she wants to do the most –

Yell at him for being an asshole, or take him into Interview One and _show_ him who he'd be better off with.

* * *

Sam nods along quietly, agreeing with Frank about tactics for the day.

He is confident that if he and Nash can work through their evidence today, they will make ground on their case.

He allows himself a quick glance at McNally. Just wants to see if she's still got that bright smile on her face. He duly notes Oliver's look of glee as the two officers chat, and smiles small at the way Andy rolls her eyes at something Ollie just said.

* * *

"Listen up, people," Frank's voice interrupts the current thoughts of several of his staff. "Today's a big day…."

* * *

Big day or not, parade is short and sweet. Aside from the not so friendly reminder that he expects everyone who is not on shift to be at the fight tonight, (with friends… and wallets… and friends with wallets) Frank has little to report. No new BOLO's, no progress with Sam and Traci's case, just a few minor announcements.

And another pearl of wisdom that definitely gets things stirred up: Serve, Protect and Remember Why We're Doing This.

Andy and Oliver are both still smiling as they make their way through the Sally Port. Andy's only grows when Oliver passes her the keys.

* * *

About an hour in, they finish their first call and Andy basically has not stopped talking or grinning. And Oliver is not the only one taking notice.

The guy at the house they were just at could not stop staring at her, beamed when she asked for his contact information. (Idiot.) Oliver was pretty sure the guy was only a couple seconds away from asking for her number before he passed the guy _his_ card and ushered her out of there. She really has no idea of the effect…

He watches her ease out into the traffic, all bright eyes and winning smiles, but doesn't really register it when she throws a quick peek his way.

"Oliver?"

It takes him a second to pull himself from his thoughts. "Huh?" He mutters when he finally gets himself back to the present.

Andy giggles. "I asked how you were holding up."

Oliver narrows his eyes. "It was a noise complaint McNally. Pretty sure I can get through one of those in my sleep."

Andy offers him up a little eyebrow before she breaks out a teasing grin. "I don't know. It's been almost two hours since you last ate. I was starting to worry that you were on the verge of passing out the way you pulled me out of there."

Oliver really cannot believe this girl, shakes his head while she chuckles to herself.

"Did something happen between you and Sammy?" Oliver blurts before he can think any better of it.

Andy's eyes flash wide. "What? No!"

He feels the car lurch around a bit before McNally seems to have it back under control. He wonders if maybe he should have waited 'til he was driving before letting that one drop.

The red in her cheeks is not going away anytime soon, so she keeps her eyes steadfastly on the traffic in front of her. "Why would you say that?" She finally asks, voice still a little breathy.

"I don't know, McNally," Oliver drawls. "Maybe it has something to do with you being all Pollyanna Sunshine and offering to bring him lunch."

Andy turns just long enough to shoot Oliver a glare. "Traci's my best friend and Sam's well…" She huffs out a loud breath. "Well, I can't really bring her lunch without bringing something for him; it would be rude."

Oliver's eyes are rolling before the words have even finished coming out of her mouth; it's the feeblest excuse he's ever heard, especially since they invited Nash for lunch only two days ago without any thoughts for Sam, or at least none that _he_ knew of. "Fine, what about the smiles and that chatter?"

"What's wrong with being happy?" She chirps back undeterred, "and I always talk, just ask S… someone… anyone really."

Oliver offers up a little eye of his own, watches her cheeks colour again when she peers over at him. She is definitely not helping her case.

He's not sure what to say though. There's nothing wrong with her being happy; it's actually a really great thing. It's just that it hasn't been her M.O. as of late. Granted she was gone for those six months, but for six weeks before that and these last couple weeks after. Well, happy is just not how he would have described her. "There's nothing wrong with it," he finally goes with, "it's just a change is all."

Andy nods. He's not wrong is the thing – maybe not one hundred percent right in how's he's thinking it – but he's not wrong. Still she finds it just a little unnerving that everyone around her seems to know just how much her happiness is tied up with Sam.

She doesn't want Oliver to get the wrong idea though so she shrugs once and quick.

She isn't sure she's ready to admit to too much. Admitting it to herself is one thing but... She blows out a long breath as she changes lanes. "I guess I just decided to make the most out of what I have, do what I can do," she reveals quietly, "life's too short and I want to enjoy it, be happy, spend time with _friends_…"

Oliver nods, pictures coming in a little clearer now. "Secret to a happy life, McNally."

"I thought it was a happy wife," she teases, remembering one the many 'Shawism's' she's been exposed to over these last couple of years.

Oliver's eyebrow shoots up a little. "Well, unless you've made some other changes in your life that I don't know about, I'm thinking that one doesn't really apply in your case."

Andy's hand swings out to swat Oliver across the chest. "Oliver!"

"You gotta admit; you and Nash **are** freakishly close."

He chuckles at the very unladylike snort that comes from the other side of the cruiser. "Kidding McNally. Good friends, loving family… can't ask for anything more…" He crows, before rubbing a hand across his stomach, "except maybe a donut. You wanna swing by the next Timmy's?"

Andy's unbridled laughter brings an even bigger smile to Oliver's face. Things are definitely looking up.

* * *

Traci's phone rings a little after twelve. She and Sam have been scouring their notes for most of the morning. The fresh eyes she was preaching about yesterday haven't quite paid off yet, but they're working on it.

"We don't have time for chit chat," Sam growls clearly frustrated by their lack of progress.

Traci scowls back at him, holds his eye steady as she presses the talk button and lifts the phone to her ear in defiance. "Nash." She grins a little when he rolls his eyes and drops them back down to the page.

"Yep," she looks at her watch surprised to see that it's already past lunch. "We can make that work... Let me ask."

Traci puts her palm over the receiver. "Swarek," she beckons, waits for him to look up again, tamps down a grin because she's pretty sure she's about to make his day a whole lot better, can't wait to prove herself right.

"You got plans for lunch?"

Sam's eyes dart to the side and back; he's really not sure how he wants to answer this. He doesn't really think that Cruz would bring Nash into it, even more he knows that Nash would not be this keen on helping. Still he's not about to walk into anything blind. "Who wants to know?" he grumbles.

This time Traci does grin, open mouth and eyes bright. "McNally and Shaw."

She has to hold back the chuckle at Sam's wide eyes. "They wanna know if they can bring us something; maybe entice us to take a little breather. What do you say? You up for some company?"

Sam clears his throat once and then again, has already revealed way too much to his partner this morning, doesn't need to give her any more ammunition. "Yeah, sure, I could eat," he shrugs off nonchalantly, the rapid beat of his heart making it more than a little difficult to maintain the calm demeanour.

When he doesn't hear anything else, he glances back up. Can't figure out why Nash isn't passing on the okay, but she's just staring back at him like she's expecting something else.

He throws a hand out to the side as he barks. "What?"

She's got that look in her eyes, the one she gets sometimes when she's interviewing suspects, trying to trip them up. "Is it just the two of us today?"

Sam's chin falls to his chest and he glares back at his partner from under his eyebrows. "As far as I know," he replies low and slow, before he picks up one of the papers, leans back in his chair and starts to read through it again.

She knows that's all she's going to get out of him so she gets back on the phone and confirms that they're in.

"They gonna be here soon," Sam inquires after a couple of seconds, keeps his grin hidden behind the paper in front of him, hopes his voice doesn't give him away.

Traci's smile is up front and centre as she taunts, "in need of a little pick me up are we?"

Sam's dimples dig in, but he figures he won't give anything away by answering.

Traci smiles behind some papers of her own. His silence says enough.

* * *

Andy and Oliver waltz up to the detectives' door about fifteen minutes later, bags in hand.

Oliver struts right over to Sam's desk without even so much as a knock or hello. "Brought you something special, Brother. I hear it's your favourite…" he pauses, grins wide at Traci before gesturing a hand out to his partner. "McNally?"

Traci's laugh rings loud and bright across the office, cannot be dampened by her partners glare.

Andy shoves Oliver out of the way as she drops her bag on the side of Sam's desk completely oblivious to his insinuation. She pulls out a sandwich from what had been _their_ favourite deli and sets it in front of Sam. "Don't listen to him," she orders, "this is all me."

Sam coughs a little, holds back the retort on the tip of his tongue. Eight months past and two people less in the room and he would have made it abundantly clear that 'all her' was definitely his favourite choice for lunch… and just about any other time of day.

"Hey," Oliver disputes, lip pouting out. "I sprung for dessert didn't I?"

Jaws drop on both Sam and Traci as their voices echo one another. "No way."

"He also _ate_ half of it too," Andy sneers, taking away a little of his thunder.

"I did not."

Andy's eyebrows hit the top of her head before she juts her chin out toward the bag in his hand. "How many are in there?"

"Four," Oliver brags proudly. "One for each of us."

Andy huffs out a loud breath as she slides by her partner and pulls up a chair between the two detectives' desks, sets her sandwich down on Sam's as she leans back. "Except that I heard you ask for six," she challenges, unwraps the paper from her turkey club before picking up half and pointing it at him. "Pretty sure you even said that we'd save the other two for later," she reminds him.

Oliver yanks his own sandwich from the bag before tossing the sack at Traci. "I got hungry," he whines.

"It only took fifteen minutes," Andy gripes back.

Sam and Traci are grinning at the back forth between the two partners, best medicine for the morning they've had.

Traci's just about to put money down on Andy for the stare off, when the brunette shrugs her shoulders and lets it go. "Anyway, I thought you two could use a little break. Anything yet?" She wonders, looking at Sam for only a second before turning to the safety of her friend.

"Nothing yet," Traci answers with a frown, "but we're still looking."

Andy takes another bite of her sandwich, chews on it for a bit before chancing another look at Sam, and he's well, he doesn't seem to have taken his eyes off her. "Well, if you need any help," she starts, fidgets a little under his stare before seeking out her friend again, "let me know."

Traci grins a little at Sam, but he's too busy studying Andy to notice. "We might just take you up on it," she agrees readily.

Andy nods before swivelling the chair around to Sam again. Her brow furrows when she sees that he hasn't touched his lunch. "Aren't you going to eat?"

"Huh," Sam shakes his head for a second, hears Shaw and Nash chuckling and realizes he's been caught staring, tucks his tongue into his cheek to stop the smile; he just really likes having her here. "Yeah, of course," he confirms as he unwraps his sandwich and takes a good long look – Ham and Mustard.

Traci's smile drops a little when he doesn't dive in right away, recalls the same kind of sandwich sitting untouched on his desk a couple days back. Her heart drops for her friend. "Oh, Andy, I don't think…" She peers around the brunette to catch her partner's eye. "We can trade if…"

"Nash," Sam growls his warning.

Andy looks a little panicked. She thought it was his favourite, at least it had been… but a lot had changed lately so she supposed… "I'm sorry," she utters softly. "I should have asked; I shouldn't have assumed…"

She starts reaching for the sandwich, but Sam's hand shoots out, covers her hand with his own.

A gasp of surprise escapes her mouth but she doesn't pull away. Her eyes dart up to Sam's though and he's looking right back at her. "It's perfect."

He hates the look of doubt in her eyes, the one that he's put there once again. He gives her hand a quick squeeze before he lets go to lift the sandwich and take a bite. "Never better," he assures her.

Andy smiles small, then takes a bite of her own sandwich to try and hide the blush. Oliver and Traci exchange knowing grins.

For the next few minutes, everyone busies themselves with their lunch. After the delayed start, Sam makes short work of the first half of his, and without thinking, reaches across the desk and picks up the second half of Andy's sandwich and takes a bite. It was standard operating procedure to share way back when, seems old habits die hard.

"So you two weren't busy," Traci wonders aloud after a bit.

Oliver checks in with his partner to see if she wants to answer, but she's too busy staring at Sam - having just located the missing half of her lunch.

She rolls her lips together to keep the smile at bay as she reaches across and picks up the rest of his. She steals another glance at Sam but he seems to have no idea what he's done.

Oliver kicks at her chair and snickers when she practically jumps. "Nash wants to know if we were busy."

Andy's cheeks tinge pink, a little embarrassed at what Oliver may or may not have caught her doing, doesn't stop her from rolling her eyes at him though.

When she hears Sam chuckle beside her, a few things break loose including her smile. "We had a few calls this morning. Last one was pretty quick though so…" her eyes drift back to Sam of their own accord, "it worked out perfectly."

"It was a woman," Oliver adds like it makes all the sense in the world, except it doesn't to anyone but him.

Traci's the first one to take the bait. "How does that make a difference?"

Oliver takes a huge bite of his sandwich, chews on it only a little before he answers. "Cause then McNally doesn't waste all of our time flirting," he explains around the mouthful.

He's got his eye on Sam as he says it, is not disappointed with the reaction he gets, but McNally's is so much better.

"I was **not** flirting," she practically screams, her cheeks redder than he's seen in a while. Her eyes flit between Sam and Traci looking for help. "I was not flirting," she assures them.

But they're no help at all. As her best friend and ex-boyfriend, ex-partner, now-whatever, they both know her. They know she likely wasn't, but they also know the effect she can have on men.

Traci scoffs loudly while Sam just takes another bite of his sandwich, decides pleading the fifth is probably best on this matter.

"It's called being friendly," Andy grumbles to herself more than anyone. Although, probably she's going to have to consider how _friendly _her mannerisms are when she is applying her tactics of _being friendly_ to Sam…

"Well that guy definitely wanted to be _your_ friend," Oliver chirps, eyebrows wagging in suggestion

"Oliver!"

"You didn't see his eyes light up when you asked for his number," her partner continues, clearly enjoying putting her on the hot seat.

It doesn't take long for Traci to get in on the act. "You asked for his number? Go Andy!" She cheers.

Andy closes her eyes, blows out a slow breath before she shifts her glare onto her friend. "Traci, I asked for his contact information _for the report_."

"You slip him your card, McNally?" Sam wonders, working hard to keep his tone light and teasing. He definitely needs something to wash down his food though, he's pretty sure there's some bread…or something…caught in the back of his throat.

She turns on him almost immediately, but instead of anger, there's a glint in her eye. "Don't _you_ start," she grins seeing an opportunity and taking it, "the lady at the deli _still_ asks for you every time I come in. I'm sure you can tell that your sandwich was a little shy on meat this time. Apparently, I don't have the anatomy to pull off _friendly _with her."

Sam just about chokes again, pokes his tongue into his cheek 'til she catches up with what she said.

The resulting blush does not disappoint. "The dimples, Sam," she groans, "I'm talking about the dimples. Remember when I called you on it the first time; you said you were 'just being friendly'."

She's got one eyebrow on the up now, "I guess it was just a coincidence that the dimples got _extra friendly_ when you'd worked up an appetite huh?"

They're grinning at one another now, that 'nothing ever is' kind of smirk that reminds them of happier times.

Oliver clears his throat. "Well, would you look at that," he interjects, breaking the two out of their reverie.

He points at his watch and Andy jumps to her feet, sandwich still in hand. "Yeah, we should… I'm sure you guys have better things to do."

Things to do? Yes. But better? Sam thinks not.

As it is, he's trying to think of an excuse to keep her here a little longer… Maybe even re-make that coffee he had lined up for her earlier, pull her away from prying third parties and tell her…

Sam doesn't even know. Tell her anything to make sure she knows where he's…where he's at. Still. Now is probably not the time and place, not if they're going to get a resolution to this case anytime soon.

"Thanks for lunch," Traci offers, extending her hoagie in salute. "It definitely hit the spot."

Andy smiles, "I was happy to. I just…" She looks from Traci over to Sam before she shrugs, "that's what friends are for, right?"

"Friends…" Sam echoes quietly, as he watches McNally and Shaw turn to walk out the door. "_No… _I don't think so."

"Huh?" Traci asks, completely confused. She knows it's been rough since Andy got back but she never really thought… in fact she was sure that he still… and after his revelation this morning, and the lunch… she just assumed… She finds herself leaning towards Andy without even thinking.

At the same time that Traci expresses her confusion, both McNally and Shaw turn back around on their heels, surprised –

Andy nearly swallows her tongue. Is Sam saying that he _doesn't_ consider her to be a friend? She knows things have been awkward and difficult this past two weeks (7 months), but they seemed to be making headway today…

Oliver is just as shell-shocked. His eyebrows go up and then down. And then up again.

"McNally," Sam says, standing up from his desk, a small smile coming over his face as he nods in her direction. "I think you might have something here."

Oliver, Traci and Andy are all still trying to make sense of the enigma that appears to be Sam Swarek at the moment. In the span of two sentences, he has managed to completely contradict himself.

Oliver shuffles between his feet a little, scratches at his ear. "I think you might need a little longer break there, Sammy. You're not firing on all cylinders here."

Sam grins bigger, even chuckles a little as he picks up the file.

The other three are still bewildered as they watch him rifle through a few papers before he pulls one out and scans it. After a couple of minutes, he tosses it back down onto the desk and looks over at the two by the door. "Would you move across country with me if I asked you to?"

Andy's mouth opens and closes a few times, but her voice is nowhere to be found. Her throat has suddenly lost all moisture and she swallows a few times in preparation but can't bring herself to answer. She would is the thing, in a second actually, but she's pretty sure that's not what he's looking for here. Not that she really knows what he _does _want.

Andy finally elbows Oliver, tilts her chin in Sam's direction. Her eyes pleading for a little help here.

Oliver jumps a bit, lets his eyes bounce between Andy and Sam. "Oh… me?" He stutters out.

Sam shrugs, just needs someone to catch up here, let him know he's onto something. "Would you?"

Oliver tilts his head to the side. "I love you, Sammy. Would take a bullet for you even, but can't say I'd move to Vancouver with you."

Sam turns his attention to Andy. "What about you McNally?"

"What? Huh?" Her eyes flash wide; Oliver's answer was supposed to get her off the hook. "Me?" She squeaks out.

"Yeah," he grins at her, certain he's on the right track. "Would you move across country for say… Nash or Collins?" Right after he poses the question, he wants to take it back. There's a possibility that McNally might consider moving across the country for either of those two…especially for the latter, if she has any…deeper…feelings for him.

Andy breathes out a long sigh of relief, glares at Oliver when she feels his shoulder shake with silent laughter. "Um, I guess I'd probably go with Trace if she needed me, maybe stay a while, but," her brow furrows as she contemplates just what she'd do for her friend, "I can't really see upending my whole life though."

Sam nods minutely, feeling a little more unnerved that she didn't address Collins in that. He knows the UC partners are _not_ a couple right now, but still…whether she's in a relationship with army-boy or not doesn't mean she doesn't _want_ to be -

Andy shakes her head fiercely about the other person he asked about. She may have lived with the guy for the last six months, even had to kiss him…but seriously. It's like living with a bossy teenage brother…or what she assumes that might be like. "And as for Nick…nope, no way. Six months of his bad habits and irritating demands was enough to last me a lifetime…no way am I ever going anywhere for him…"

"Right!" Sam crows, stupidly pleased about every part of the continuation to her response…and the fact that she's proved his point about this particular case.

Oliver frowns a little at his friend. "I think you lost us, Brother."

Sam turns to Traci, stares at her a few seconds to see if she's following him here. "Do you remember talking to his friends… the best friend?"

Traci narrows her eyes as she thinks back to the interview, the girl was a real mess, could barely talk past the tears. She starts recapping as best she can from memory. "Emma, right?"

At Sam's nod, she continues. "They grew up together in the West, but he took a job out here. She came to visit him awhile back when he was having a tough time. Said he told her he wondered why he even came out in the first place. She thought he was fine by the time she left, but he called her back not even a week later and asked her to come again. After that she had to go back for her job." She pulls her copy of the file off the desk then, flips to the page she wants. "A few days later she couldn't reach him and he wasn't returning his family's calls."

"Is that when he disappeared?" Andy wonders out loud.

Traci's shaking her head. "No, but she drops everything, quits her job, and moves out here, manages to track him down and then announces she's staying. After that, life goes on, job gets better, and he meets his girlfriend," she looks up at Sam with a light now shining in her eyes, "asks _her_ to move in…"

Sam's nodding and grinning back at her, eyes wide and as bright as hers.

Andy and Oliver sport matching smiles as Traci confirms what they're all thinking, "you don't fly cross country and give up your whole life for just a _friend_."

Andy's mind starts to contemplate long taxi rides, circling the block out in the cold, and lofts and farmhouses and… "She was in love with him," Andy breathes out.

"Give the girl a prize," Oliver cheers, sharing in the joy. "There's no way you give up everything, risk your job, (waltz into burnt out buildings), unless there's something _more_ there."

Traci's already scanning the page for the girl's contact information. "We need to bring her in again," she instructs, tries to remember if the girl said anything about returning to Vancouver.

Sam nods his agreement, turns to Oliver and Andy. "You guys mind bringing her in, while we go over all this." He's already started a list in his head; wonders if they have enough time to track down some friends and family out West to see how she fared when the guy first left. He's already flipping through pages to see what they have on their lives before Toronto.

"Not at all, Brother," Oliver agrees readily. "Happy to be of service." He waves his hand towards the door. "Let's go partner."

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Traci wonders, already in the process of writing down the name and address for them.

Oliver grins, plucks the bag full of sweets off the end of Sam's desk. "Oh, right."

Andy's laugh is unabashed causing Sam and Traci to both look up and smile; it's definitely a sound that's been missing around there. Traci is the first to take notice of Oliver's deed when she hands Andy the paper. "Hey!"

"What?" Oliver retorts feigning innocence. "Sammy said it himself, McNally cracked the case. To the victor go the spoils."

Traci narrows her eyes and frowns a little. "So how come you're holding them?"

Oliver tips his head towards his partner. She's got the paper in one hand and the last of her lunch in the other. "Her hands are full," he shrugs, narrows his eyes a little when he really takes notice. He lifts his gaze to meet Andy's. "Hey, I thought you got the turkey?"

Sam looks down at the rest of his own sandwich, looks back up just in time to see Andy shoving Oliver unceremoniously out the door. He smiles to himself as he takes another big bite.

* * *

"This should have never happened." It comes out as more of a sob, and as much as Andy knows the girl is probably guilty, her heart still breaks for her. She passes her a bottle of water and sits down across from her in Interview One.

Traci and Sam are still discussing their strategy when they open the door to the viewing room, stop short when Oliver turns to look at them. "Where's McNally?" Sam asks.

Oliver tips his chin towards the one-way glass. "Doing what she does best."

Sam and Traci shift around so they can get a full view of the other room. Andy's got her hand rubbing up and down the girl's back. Traci reaches out and turns up the volume so they can better hear what's being said.

"How are you holding up?" Andy asks compassionately. "It must be hard losing someone you're so close to."

Traci looks around the two men, makes sure she sees the light going on the camera before she turns back to the scene in front of her.

Emma sniffles, wipes her face on her sleeve before sucking in a loud breath and wondering. "You ever lose someone who means the world to you?"

Andy huffs out a short breath as her eyes take on a faraway look, she brings her hand back from the girl and links it with the other one atop the table. "Yeah… yeah, I have; I mean… he didn't die or anything… but, yeah."

She doesn't really follow it up with anything so the two women sit there in silence mindful of their own individual losses.

Sam is staring straight ahead. He knows both Nash and Shaw are gaping at him; he can feel it. But he's not sure what they're expecting him to do, what they want him to do. Wonders himself what he wants to do… if he's up for hearing what she has to say.

All five people are lost in their own thoughts, when the girl finally breaks the silence. "What happened?"

Sam sucks in quick breath when he sees Andy's eyes dart to the mirror. Wonders if she knows that he's there.

"Sam?" Traci whispers, knows he's probably torn, is a little torn herself. Thinks maybe he needs to hear a few things for himself but also doesn't want to intrude on Andy's personal thoughts. Still, she has to know she's being watched… at the very least by Oliver.

"Just…" Sam takes a deep breath, "let's just give her a minute and then I think you should go in."

They had already decided earlier that the girl would probably best relate to Traci, but right now Andy had a real shot at getting to her and he doesn't want to lose that… and maybe, selfishly, he just really wants to hear what she has to say.

Andy takes a deep breath, speaks quietly and mostly to her hands. "A lot of things I guess. Walking away when we should have been putting up a fight. Fighting when we should have been walking away." She smiles sadly before she continues. "Letting go when we should have been holding on tight. Holding on too tight when we should have been letting go."

Andy's thoughts drift away for a couple seconds, she sees a flash of an old movie Sam made her sit through one Sunday. She huffs out a soft chuckle before she mutters, "what we have here is a failure to communicate."

After a few very long seconds, Andy finally looks up at Emma and then shrugs, "choices are made and sometimes you can't go back…" She blows out a slow breath, tries to smile, "no matter how much you might want to."

"I'm not sure why you would want to… go back I mean." Emma furrows her brow. "It sounds like you're better off without him."

Andy shakes her head. "No… definitely not better."

"There's someone else; isn't there?"

Andy doesn't answer but she doesn't have to, Emma knows she's right; she's been there. Her voice gets a little shaky when she asks, "So how do you do it then? How do you even get over it?"

Andy picks up on the change in Emma's voice, steals another peek at the mirror and wonders just how much time has passed since they got in there, wonders why neither Traci nor Sam has come in yet. They must be…

Andy takes a drink of water and steadies herself; she's going to do this right, and for as long as they'll let her.

She catches Emma's eye. "You do the best you can to move on I guess. Take what you can get and try to be happy… for yourself and for them. It's better to have them in your life as a friend than not at all, right?"

Sam nods, a small movement that he knows the others won't see. He knows with every part of his being exactly what she means. It was his mantra when McNally was with Callaghan…it will be his new mantra too. Whatever moving on Andy needs to do now, all Sam wants…needs…is for them to be…_something_….

He almost lets out a laugh as he thinks of trying to wrap his brain around the 'friend' thing again. Before he met McNally, he barely even thought about the meaning of the word. He's always been loyal to his Brother's, no doubt about that…but beyond the buddy's…well, it's fair to say that Sam doesn't have the experience that Collins seems to have when it comes to being a girl's best friend.

His thoughts are left in limbo as he watches the disposition of the young woman being interviewed continue to change. Oliver's right…Sam first instincts about this copper were right: McNally is good with her mouth –

(Sam closes his eyes, tries to force any of those _more than friendly_ thoughts to the back of his mind; that was not…)

McNally has the ability to talk her way out of, and into, situations. Probably, she should take up negotiating or something, that's how good she is with people and words…

Emma's eyes drop down to her hands, her voice starts to crack, bordering on a sob. "What if it wasn't enough?"

Three identical gasps pull almost all the air out of the viewing room. The first outward signs of life since Sam asked them to give Andy a minute. Traci looks over at Sam in question; should she go in now? Let Andy keep going?

Before he can make the decision, the girl is talking again. "I waited too long; I didn't tell him I loved him," she sobs. "He didn't know."

Andy's hand finds Emma's back again. "I'm sure he knew. You did everything you could for him. You moved across the country. You were there for him…" Andy pauses, swallows around a lump that just won't go away, "when it mattered." She leans down to catch the girl's teary eyes. "You _showed_ him."

"No!" Emma yells out, her head starting to shake almost violently. "I LOVED him, loved him. And now…" She drops her head into her hands. "God, now he's gone and the last thing he…" Her head is shaking again. "He never knew; I could tell. I could see it in his eyes; he had no idea and then… I can't believe… how could I… Oh God."

Andy's eyes go wide before they snap up to stare in the mirror. (Did she just…)

Sam doesn't get a chance to answer before Oliver's radio goes off asking if their unit is available to respond. "I can go solo," he offers with a quick shrug.

Sam shakes his head. "You're not going alone," he replies to Oliver quietly. His chest feels constricted, thoughts of the danger his buddy might face if he takes a call solo, especially if it's not all that it seems. "McNally's basically got us our confession, Nash can go help her wrap it up. I'll come with you."

Oliver smiles small, puts his hands on his hips. "Missing the field, brother? Or just want to be reminded of how good policing is done?" Sam's buddy's tenor is light and with a bit of a tease, but there's also an undertone. Both men still have Jerry's death at the front of their mind.

Sam rolls his eyes, gives Shaw an elbow to nudge him along. He stops in front of Nash and assures her that he trusts the two women to bring the interview to the conclusion they need. "McNally's laid the right foundations, Nash. Just be there with her to make sure all those gaps we know of get filled."

Traci nods in understanding, turns and follows the men out of the room so she can make her way into interview one. "Sam," she calls out, before turning the door handle.

Sam looks over his shoulder at his partner, the sound of Oliver's radio still in his ear. "Yeah?"

Traci bites into her lip. She doesn't want what she's about to say to sound condescending, or like she's the boss giving rewards. She just wants to highlight a fact. If it hadn't been for Sam's thinking and connecting of dots, and for McNally's talking and empathizing they wouldn't be where they are right now –

"You two make a great team."

Sam swallows. Nods his head at Nash again, but refuses to give much else away. He already knows that the different styles of policing that he and McNally have are complementary, that when they're both on song, they produce great results –

But he can't let himself get lost in those thoughts. Can't think about how good it feels to be working alongside McNally…because right now he needs to focus his attentions on the task at hand. He's made a commitment to Oliver, and he needs to wrap that one up before he comes back to bask in any glory on the other case that's important to him.

* * *

When Traci joins Andy, Emma is already coming apart at the seams, unable to keep it all together, details and feelings mixing together and slipping out of their own accord.

It only takes a few more pointed questions and comments from the two officers before she finally breaks down and admits that yes, she had killed her friend… but it was an accident, 'she could never hurt him, not on purpose'.

The next hour and a half is spent walking her through that night and garnering the necessary details, intermixed with a whole lot of tears and breakdowns.

By the time it's all over, Andy and Traci feel like they've been run through the ringer right along with her. Traci reaches out and turns the handle to open the door, waits as Andy reads Emma her rights and then ushers her out into the hallway.

Traci takes a quick peek at the watch on her arm and then turns to her friend. "Are you okay to get her booked? I'd really like to get started on these notes." The fight is only a few hours away now, and she really wants to be there for Andy. She's pretty sure Frank will let them go, but figures the more she can get done, the more likely that is to happen.

"Sure, yeah, of course," Andy agrees readily. "I got time. Just tell Oliver where I am or better yet," she adds with a grin, "get him started on _our_ paperwork from this morning."

"Oh," Traci stops short; she was so wrapped up in the case that she forgot about their partners. "Oliver got called out and..."

Andy's eyes flash wide. "Why didn't he… crap!" She takes hold of Emma's arm and steers her quickly away, hustling her in the opposite direction. She calls back over her shoulder, "you go ahead, get started, I'll take care of this and then call Oliver."

Traci opens her mouth to tell Andy to relax, but she's just accidentally walked them into the wall. "Sorry, sorry," she tells the young girl before turning back to Traci. "No worries Trace; I got it covered."

By the time Andy gets the girl through the door, Traci's smiling and shaking her head. Figures she'll get the tape all set up in their office and then let Andy know that Sam's got her back. See if maybe she'll push off her own paperwork to help Traci get a good start on the notes for this case.

….

Oliver blows out a long breath, chances a sideways look at his good friend. Callouts to domestics are never easy, and this one was no exception.

(They arrived to the apartment to find a young woman with particularly nasty bruises on her arms and her face. Her neighbour, who had been the one to call in the disturbance, had done a good job of comforting her. Told Sammy that this wasn't the first time the boyfriend had hit the girl. He'd already left the scene and unfortunately no one could shed any light on where he might've gone next…

Of course, the fact that the woman decided not to lay charges at the end made things more frustrating).

Oliver knows it's futile trying to tell Sam that there was nothing more they could do, but he gives it a go anyway; "She's got our number, Sammy. That might be enough to get her thinking, make that one crucial call in the future that will turn her situation around."

Sam stares out the window, deep in thought. The woman they just spoke with knew there was hope. She knew that if she left her abusive boyfriend, she'd be okay. She had good friends, close family, a great job…

He shakes his head, unable to grasp why she couldn't just leave the guy. For everyone's sake, he does hope that she makes the call sooner, rather than later. "Let's hope she doesn't make the decision too late," he mutters, staring back out the window as they drive past the deli that Oliver and Andy would have been at earlier today –

"Stop here," Sam announces, as calm as he can so as not to make Ollie run off the road. He chews into the inside of his cheek as his friend pulls over. He checks his watch and knows the store will be open, figures the least he can do is repay McNally's friendly gesture at lunch -

Oliver looks over, eyebrows up as Sam climbs out the door, clearly headed in the direction of the deli. "Did we not feed you enough earlier, brother?"

Sam snorts. "Well, you did take all the dessert."

* * *

They get back to the station five minutes later with a fresh bag of treats and four good coffees.

Nash and McNally are back up in the D's office when they arrive, the girls rehashing the confession they got, and organizing the paperwork that will help to get the case ready for court.

Andy steps back from Sam's desk when she sees him walk through the door. She smiles small at him, and decides to wait for further instruction. She's trying to continue to be helpful, but she figures Sam deserves to hear about the confession before anyone rushes in to tie up loose ends.

"Hey," he greets, nodding at both Andy and Traci, fixing his eyes on the latter. "Get everything that we need."

Traci nods, her own eyes drinking in the tray of goodies that seem to have managed to wrestle their own way out of Oliver's hands and onto a desk. "And then some…by the looks?" she says in reference to the best coffee in town.

"We figured as we wouldn't be getting a drink until after Fight Night, we'd have a small celebration now," Oliver requires chirpily, taking one of the cups and a large pastry for himself.

Sam opens his mouth and turns to his buddy. "You're claiming _this_ idea as your own too?"

Oliver shrugs. "I was driving the car. I didn't have to stop, just 'cause you told me to, Swarek." He licks at some sticky fingers, gives Andy a wink. "So, yeah. I'd say us getting all this back here in tact is at least 80% due to me."

Andy and Sam both snort in response, and then do their best not to turn and stare at one another over their synchronised reply. "Unbelievable…" Sam says eventually, reaching over to grab the bag of pastries and one of the coffees off the tray.

Andy watches on as Sam takes the items off the desk and is about to reach for a coffee herself when he cuts her off at the pass. He nudges the warm cup that's in his hand in her direction. "This one's for you, McNally."

As she takes it, the tips of their fingers touch and she nearly drops the thing straight down to the floor. She resigns herself early to the blush that takes up residence across the expanse of her cheeks and gives Sam a smile.

In the meantime, Sam is focusing on staying as still as he can. His heart is a mess. He's going to have to figure out some way of dealing with McNally's smile if they're to be…_friends_.

When he's got himself under some sort of control, he points the pastry bag in her direction. "What you did there today…how you worked with that girl…"

She peers down into the bag, before reaching in and coming out with an apple flip. Her smile is its own celebration and Sam has to clear his throat a couple of times when she looks up at him with those bright, bright eyes that remind him of ice cream and warm days… and how much he really just…

"You were really good in there," he finally manages to croak out. You kept it real, he thinks but can't bring himself to say it out loud.

"Thanks," she breathes out and there's more relief in there than she likes to admit. His opinion probably shouldn't matter as much as it does but she can't help it. It's just really important to her that he thinks she's capable, that he thinks she can do this, that maybe it's okay to trust her instincts… and maybe her.

"I stuck with it," she shrugs, and the way he's looking at her… it's just… she really misses that… and God, she's always had this crazy need to make him proud… even before… everything. And it's been so long since…

She drops her eyes down to her hands for a second; she just needs… to breathe… When he looks at her like that, it's just… well… it's a little too much. So she needs to not be looking at him… seeing…she just needs a little time to remember that she has to get better at keeping her feelings in check. If they're going to be _friends_, she can't be so… affected.

She takes a deep breath before she looks up at him, and he's still… well… yeah, he's still watching her. She tries to keep her voice steady as she continues. "She seemed to want to talk and well, I hear that's my specialty so…"

Sam's kept a close eye on her. And the other two, they've been keeping a close eye on him, both of them actually. Not daring to breathe for fear of spooking one or the other.

Sam grins wide though, she may have gotten better with her poker face, but he still knows her, knows something's going on in that head of hers, and can't seem to stop the next words as they spill out of his mouth. "And here I thought it was over thinking."

He sucks in a loud breath when he realizes that he's said it out loud. They'd taken some big steps today in… well in the right direction. The last thing he wants is to lose any kind of ground he might have gained, is scared that maybe it was a little too soon to… but then he hears her let out a soft chuckle and suddenly he's letting go of the breath he didn't know he was holding.

Andy shakes her head, hopes her cheeks aren't as pink as she thinks they are. "I just stuck with it," she says raising her eyes to meet his again. She doesn't have to say it. (The way I was taught.)

Sam nods, smiles softly at her and she finds herself being drawn in again, knows she can't let that happen so she has to do something… say something… apparently anything. "You always said my mouth was my best asset."

Sam chokes on the sip of coffee he just took, takes a quick check of Shaw and Nash who are both putting in a solid effort to hold in their laughter. He feels Oliver slap him on the back once hard before announcing, "Well, that was probably more information than I ever needed to know."

"Wha…" Andy furrows her brow, replays the last few seconds in her head. (Oh God…) She quickly shoves the apple flip into her mouth and takes the biggest bite she can manage, chews on it a little, anything to stop her from opening her mouth again.

Oliver tilts his head to the side, "Too late now McNally; damage is done."

Sam's got his tongue tucked into his cheek but it's a losing battle, especially with Traci cackling over in the corner and Oliver channeling a very loud and mostly off key Cher – "if I could turn back ti-me…" Shaw even has a diva-like pout on his face, and is resting the back of one hand on his forehead.

Andy glares at all three of them as she pulls off another piece of the apple flip, and shoves it into her mouth, mindful of the foot she's got lodged in there too.

She hasn't even finished chewing when Frank sticks his head in the office, just back from a meeting at headquarters. "If you guys are having a party, that better mean we have something to celebrate," he barks.

"You mean besides McNally's impending victory," Oliver crows, tipping his cup of coffee towards his partner.

Frank shakes his head, ignores Oliver's good-natured teasing. "Nash? Swarek? What've we got?"

The two partners exchange a look; Sam waves a hand at Traci to go ahead. "Suspect is in custody, confession's on tape, and we were just getting the notes all typed up."

He raises an impressed brow, after this morning he was just hoping for a couple of promising leads. "Nice work. Report done now?"

Traci's eyes dart to the pages still scattered on her desk. "No sir, not quite done yet," she admits sheepishly.

This time the brow isn't quite so impressed. "But I'll have it by the end of the night…?" he digs, except when he checks his watch, he knows that the day is pretty much over and the likelihood of that is pretty small.

Sam can tell his partner is a little panicked, but he's worked with Frank for a long time, knows he won't let them miss Andy's fight. "Still have to get someone to transcribe the tape but we'll have our notes typed up and the confession signed by noon tomorrow."

Frank waits, lets them all squirm a little, the two women doing more than their fair share. "Carry on," he consents as he pulls back out of the room.

Andy and Traci are visibly relieved but they both jump back to attention when the boss steps back in. "McNally."

"Yes Sir," she squeaks out.

"Noelle got us a baby sitter for tonight."

Andy's eyes shift around the room before they focus back on Frank. "O-kay," she answers slowly.

"Don't let me down," he orders with a wink, "those teenagers charge a fortune."

Andy grins big back at her boss. "Yes, Sir," she calls out after him.

* * *

Marlo and Gail make their way through the Sally Port and straight to the equipment room at the tail end of their own day. As they pack up their gear, it's decided that the paperwork will have to wait until tomorrow. Or more appropriately Gail informs Marlo that she is not taking the paperwork two nights in a row.

The senior officer is about to pull rank when they hear laughter echo out from the D's office. When they glance over, they can see Oliver, Traci and Sam clearly amused by something… or apparently someone.

Two more steps out and they've got a clear view of Andy's flushed face as she stares down the other three. And they're not the only ones who can't take their eye off her.

"Hmmm," Gail hums with practiced cheeriness. "Sounds like a party."

Marlo huffs out a loud breath. "Probably best they live it up while they can," she mutters.

Gail drops her chin, peers at Marlo from under her perfectly plucked eyebrows. "You're pretty sure of yourself there SWAT," she notes a little amused. "You got anything to back that up?"

Because she knows Andy does. After that first week of cold shoulder, she sat Nick down and made him tell her everything that happened in those six months… and she didn't ask one single question about the case.

"Guess we're about to find out," Marlo responds cryptically. "Hope you're friend's ready for the big leagues."

"Guess we're about to find out," Gail echoes before she spins on her heel and heads straight for the locker room.

* * *

_Up Next: Fite Nite!_


	4. Toe-to-Toe

_A/N: oh, look! It's a shorter round this time around ;) Thanks so much to those taking the time to leave reviews, the support is HUGELY appreciated...especially those leaving super long comments. It's great to hear that you're enjoying reading as much as we did writing this thing!_

_My personal thanks to dcj for having my back and being on top of proofing. You can thank her for making these updates happen so quickly!_

* * *

**Co-written **with** dcj**

**Disclaimer: We don't own Rookie Blue**

* * *

_**'Toe-to-Toe'**_

_"A sight game is that I am hurt, but I aim to make you believe I am not even hurt, and with this confidence appearing on my face, I don't panic, otherwise your opponent will know that you are hurt. That's the whole art game in boxing." - Evander Holyfield_

* * *

Andy's at home just throwing the last of her stuff together when her phone starts to vibrate on the table beside her bed. A quick check tells her that it's her dad. Traci's picking her up in ten minutes and if she wants time to warm up properly, she can't keep her waiting.

She blows out a quick breath and snatches the phone up right before she knows it's going to go to voice mail. "Hey, Dad, I only have a couple of minutes," she greets breathlessly.

"I know sweetheart," he replies in that gruff voice that always makes her feel like the centre of someone's world. "I just wanted to wish my little girl luck."

Andy grins, as she pulls a towel out of the closet and shoves it into her bag. "Thanks Dad."

When Tommy doesn't say anything for a couple of seconds, Andy lifts the phone away from her ear and checks to make sure they still have a connection.

"Um…" he starts and she has to pull the phone right back up. "Would it be okay if your old man came out to support you?"

She can hear the uneasiness in his voice. It feels like ages ago but she's sure he still remembers the mess he made of the real Fite Nite her rookie year. In fact, in the two years since, he has stayed completely clear of the community centre especially when there's free booze involved.

But Andy doesn't hesitate. "Yeah, Dad, that would be great," she assures him. Not that there's any liquor being served, but even if there was, she's surprised at just how confident she is that it wouldn't be a problem even then. It's one of the few saving graces since she came back from UC – her dad is still sober and very proud of her… and her of him.

"Well, alright then," Tommy agrees. "I guess I'll see you there. Let's show everyone those McNally colours yeah?"

Andy detects something in her Dad's voice but she's not sure what it is. Unfortunately she doesn't have a lot of time for puzzling it out so she just bids him goodbye, figures she can ask him about it later. "Sure, Dad, see you there."

After pulling the zipper on her bag, she slings it over her shoulder and hurries out into the living room. She takes a quick inventory to make sure she has everything, but has to run back into her bathroom to grab a few more items for cleaning up afterward.

Once she decides she has it all, she walks over to the kitchen to pull out a bottle of water for the ride over. As she passes by the island, she spots a package that she's pretty sure wasn't there when she left this morning.

She opens it up as quick as she can and giggles before stuffing it into her bag and locking up.

* * *

By the time she exits her apartment, Traci is already sitting at the curb waiting in her car. "What took you so long?" She calls out through the open passenger window.

"Sorry, Dad called to wish me luck and I got side tracked," Andy explains as she tugs open the door and tosses her bag into the back seat. "And I got halfway to the door when I realized I hadn't grabbed my shampoo and stuff."

"Well, I'm glad you remembered," Traci chuckles, wrinkling her nose up a little, "because I am not taking you out to celebrate afterwards if you're all sweaty and gross."

Andy sticks her tongue out at Traci as they pull away from the curb. "You ran home and grabbed the shorts for me right?"

Traci's giggling again. "Don't worry, I got you covered." She takes a quick peek over at Andy, pushes at her when she finds she's not looking. "Though I'm sure Swarek for one wouldn't complain if you came out in whatever you got under those sweats."

Andy rolls her eyes. "Trace… that is the last…" She shakes her head, it's hard enough convincing herself let alone Traci too. "Friends, okay… we're friends… or at least I hope we _can_ be. I mean, lunch went well right?" She knows she's practically begging for some reassurance here but… it would just be really nice to know that she wasn't the only one that felt it.

Traci nods. Lunch went more than 'well' as far as she was concerned. Though she's pretty sure both of them are fooling themselves if they think friendship is all there is to it. Now is not the time though. Now, they have a few other… _things_ to get out of the way first.

"Wow," Andy mutters when they reach the community centre. It already looks packed and the fights are still an hour away.

"I'll drop you off at the door," Traci decides, pulling up just outside the entrance. "I'll be in as soon as I can find a spot."

Andy jumps out and grabs her bag from the back seat before giving Traci a smile and a wave, and heading in.

The seats are already starting to fill for the first bout of the night. Everything looks pretty much the same as it does for Fite Nite with just a few different banners and a concession instead of a bar.

The evening is actually a community fundraiser – Fighting for the Neighbourhood. And it's not just the police department that takes part. People from all around the community come out to help _fight_ for _their_ neighbourhood – the fire department and police are almost always on the card and then it's usually storeowners or civic workers or whoever they can drum up.

Each group volunteers two people to get in the ring and they duke it out for the charity. Tickets are sold, bets are made, and the community association is the one that wins. The money is used for drug programs, after school programs, anything to keep the kids a little safer.

There's even a whole complicated betting scheme set up. Andy's pretty sure one of the local 'entrepreneurs' helps with that because it's more complicated than anything she can wrap her head around. She does know this though – no one bets on a KO unless they want to donate their money. The fight's not about taking someone down, it's about building something up.

Andy smiles as she runs her hand along the ropes. There was this time last year though, where two neighbouring store owners stepped up, happened to be in the middle of a feud at the time. It was standing room only and more than one person betting on a knockout for one side or the other. They actually had to come out in uniform that night for crowd control; good thing too because Sam even got caught in the middle of a rather lively dispute and ended up with a pretty good shiner. He was not in a very good mood when they finally got back to the station, of course that turned around once she got him home, put some ice on his eye, kissed it _all _better…

When she thinks about it, she has a lot of really good memories that involve Sam and boxing gloves. She can't think about the quarantine without smiling - the way it ended, how he knew just what she needed to really get past all the hurt and betrayal surrounding Luke.

And then there was the time he took her to the gym in his neighbourhood back before… well, before. She wasn't sure she had ever worked out so hard in her life, but she loved every minute of it. She loved the way he always pushed her past what she ever knew she was capable of. She could barely breathe by the end of it but she had never felt more alive, more happy… just never felt… more.

God what she wouldn't give to have that back again. She could see it clearly in her mind, dancing around each other, taunting, teasing, laughing... loving.

Andy flinches when she feels a hand on her back, expects to see Traci's smiling face but instead she's greeted by Oliver. "Hey champ, practicing the fine art of visualization?"

Andy's eyes narrow a little in confusion. "What?"

"Visualization," he repeats sagely. "You know. You decide what you want to happen, picture yourself doing it or getting it, and boom it comes true."

Andy gulps in a little air and blinks a few times… _could she… was it even…? _She dismisses it pretty fast though. _If all she had to do was think about it… yeah… wouldn't just be memories she'd have of Sam right now. _

Oliver's studying her pretty close, has a pretty good idea what or who her dreams for the future might include, but decides he'll save that little tidbit for their next ride together in the cruiser. "Please tell me you were at least picturing yourself knocking Cruz around a little."

Andy starts to chuckle, gives her partner a friendly hip check. "Have you been watching the Oprah channel again?"

"Hey," he cautions feigning offense, "there happen to be a lot of good shows on that network."

Andy snorts out a laugh. "A-nd it's Zoe's favourite."

Oliver smiles at his partner, really does like her a whole lot. She's almost like a… he wants to say daughter but then pictures her with Sam and goes with little sister. "That it is, McNally. That it is."

"Happy wife…" she sings out.

"Yeah, yeah, enough about me," he gripes before putting a hand on her shoulder and giving it a quick squeeze. "You ready for this champ?"

Andy nods her head, smiles right back at him. "It's all good, Oliver," she assures him. She takes a look at the clock and figures she should probably get to the back, wonders a little why he's so early. "You know the fight doesn't start for like another hour right?"

"I know, I know," he nods. "I just wanted to wish you luck again before I go have a quick one at the Penny."

"You're not going to watch the first fight," she asks.

Oliver gives her that look, that 'you're really asking me who's buying lunch' type of look that he sports most days. "Think I'll pass," he grumbles, "you've seen one hose monkey strutting around all sweaty, you've seen 'em all."

Andy rubs a hand quick on the back of his shoulder. "Thanks, Oliver." She really does like him a whole lot, likes that he seems to like her… and the idea of Sam and her.

He takes a few steps toward the door but then turns back. "I'll be back before the fight." It goes without saying that means she's going to be privy to some more of his famous words of wisdom.

"Can't wait," she says just as Traci jogs up beside her.

"There you are," she huffs out breathlessly, "I went to the back and couldn't find you."

"Just getting another pep talk from Oliver," Andy explains tipping her chin at his retreating back.

Traci shakes her head as a big grin spreads across her face. "Let's get you suited up and ready to go before he decides to come back."

* * *

Andy is just about dressed when they hear a knock on the outside of the door. Nick enters first but he's got one of Gail's hands covering his eyes and the other pushing him forward. "Are you decent?" She calls out from behind him.

Andy and Traci laugh as Gail pulls her hands away and links one into Nick's. "We just came by to remind you that you need to kick her ass."

"Why's that?"

"Because," she drawls out, "she had the nerve to try and stick me with the paperwork for the second shift in a row. Would've probably made me miss the fight too." Gail taps her foot at the floor, clearly irritated at whatever Cruz-related memories are flashing through her mind.

"Pretty sure you can fight your own battles," Andy smirks.

"I'm here aren't I?" Gail huffs, head bobbing once and her lips desperately attempting some form of…smile. She rolls her eyes when Andy doesn't appear to be getting the message. For goodness sakes, it's no wonder Swarek gets so frustrated with her. Can't she just _tell _when someone is rooting for her? She stares at Andy a little while longer, gives a fierce but friendly bark to try get her point across; "Just be ready okay."

"Don't get distracted," Nick continues on for her. "You can do this. I'll be counting the punches okay. Look at me between rounds and I'll let you know how you're doing, if you need to step it up. You don't have to prove anything, just… don't lose. You're representing here; gotta keep my streak intact."

Andy grins back at Nick, but before she can agree to the terms Gail pipes up again. "Yeah, and if you don't win, I'm pretty sure Dov won't be able to make rent, will probably be looking for a place to crash… just sayin'."

* * *

The parking lot of the community centre is packed by the time Sam gets there. He rolls his eyes as he navigates his way through the arrows pointing him toward the back of the lot. He should've known everyone would park here early, then bide some time over at the Penny, which is less than a five-minute walk.

Still, the long hike across the car park toward the centre does him some good. He's come straight from the station after a quick shower and change of shirt there. The crisp air now is helping to re-jig his brain. He's spent so much of today wrapped in thoughts of the case, and the past and the future of he and McNally, that this few minutes at least is giving him time to focus on _now_.

Sam blows out a slow breath as he walks through the door of the gym. He's timed his entry carefully. He didn't want to be so early that he arrived the same time as the boxers and their respective 'camps', but not so late that he'd miss wishing everyone good luck –

Ringside is still pretty quiet, but a few of the rookies have taken up position already. They're milling around some seats near the blue corner, so Sam assumes that's where McNally will fight.

He nods an acknowledgement to Diaz and Epstein; their eyes following his every step as he walks toward, and then past them, to get to his first port of call.

Sam's never been this dubious when entering women's locker rooms before, but he figures caution does need to be exercised on this occasion…for a whole host of reasons, potential for bare skin is actually probably lowest on the rank of concern –

The only consolation Sam has, is that he _knows_ he won't be walking into a shared space. Previous experience of these things tells Sam that the two women will each have their own designated space to prepare.

He spots Nash about to walk into one of the change rooms and catches her eye. She pauses in the doorframe, holds a finger up to who he assumes is McNally before stepping back and in Sam's direction.

(It's something he likes about his detective partner: her ability to read a situation quickly, and take the initiative to help out however she can).

Nash gives Sam a reassuring grin. "Oliver's in the process of giving his second last pep talk. I can drag him out of there if you like?"

Sam nods. "Give me a few minutes…" He bites at his lip, pretty much dreads the task he has to perform before he can spend a little time wishing McNally good luck. He tilts his chin in the direction of a room where a senior officer just walked out from. "I'm just going to wish Cruz good luck if she'll let me…uh…can you ask Andy if it's okay that I come in after that…I just…I don't want to put her off…I know she'll be trying to focus on things…"

Traci curls a few fingers over Sam's forearm. The gesture is almost maternal, a calming reassurance that she at least understands what he's trying to say. "Go," she replies quietly; "I'll meet you back out here soon."

* * *

Sam goes through a similar discussion with the friend of Marlo's that is guarding her door. He thinks he recognises the guy as being SWAT too –

"I just wanted to wish her good luck…" Sam says coolly, after he's told Cruz doesn't want any interruptions.

"Sam…" he hears Marlo's voice from behind the burly form that's currently obstructing his view. "Come in."

He nudges SWAT guy out of the way and finally finds himself toe to toe with the petite brunette that up until a couple of weeks ago was someone that felt easy to be around –

Now the atmosphere between them just feels awkward, no matter how hard Sam tries. Still: _professional, friendly, polite, boundaries,_ he repeats in his head silently a couple of times.

"Just wanted to drop in and wish you good luck for tonight." Sam keeps his hands at his side, posture as relaxed as he can. He's hoping like hell Cruz will have the nous to drop any questions that she started asking earlier today –

She smiles up at him. "Appreciate it, Sam." She nods, reaches out and runs a hand down his arm. "Really happy you're out there to watch."

Sam nods, breathes a little easier. Wonders if he should say anything else before he says goodbye –

"So. You didn't tell me earlier. Who's your money on?"

Sam's chest tightens again, along with every muscle in his arms, legs, and face. He attempts for casual when he pulls his arm from her grip, puts his hands in his pockets. "The charity, Cruz. I donated directly to Frank yesterday… told him I wasn't placing bets."

Marlo nods, a few mildly surprised expressions crossing her face. "So. You don't want some kind of return on your cash? Because, I can probably give you a hot tip on who's going to win."

He shakes his head and lets out a dry laugh. Right now, Sam feels like there were, are, and probably never will be any real winners. He's hurt Andy, Marlo, and _himself_ on more than one occasion of late, and he can't see how this fight will change any of that. "I think I'll wait until the next poker night before I start gambling again."

She smiles again, reaching up to give him a hug. He leans into it, but keeps some distance between them, wanting to make sure she knows that's all it is; is a good luck. "Bye, Cruz," he says, pulling away after a couple of seconds. "Take care of yourself out there, okay? It is for charity after all."

Marlo throws her head back and laughs freely. "You just wait…I know you're gonna be impressed with what you see of me out there."

Sam raises an eyebrow, his heart skipping a beat at the thought that his ex-whatever is about to try and teach Sam…and Andy….some kind of lesson. Extract some revenge. He knows she's competitive, but the tone in her voice suggests she's taking this more seriously than a friendly fight -

He wants to give her some sort of warning, but he's already reminded her it's for charity. He's not sure what more he can do –

"Okay," Sam replies slowly. "I just don't want to see anyone get hurt…"

"Pfft," she snorts at him, laughing again. "Not gonna get hurt, Sam –"

"I'm talkin' about McNally as well," he interjects abruptly, his voice on the border of terse and his control starting to slip away.

Cruz shrugs back at him, incessant; "She's a big girl, isn't she? She can take care of herself."

Sam has lost his patience now. He knows he's hurt Marlo, but this is ridiculous, she's talking like a spoiled brat. A jealous one at that. "She can," he nods, jaw set firm. "But I also know that she'll be taking tonight in the spirit it's meant to be taken…so I'm asking you….as a friend…not to take advantage of that."

Cruz peers through her lashes at him. "God, Swarek. I haven't seen this side of you before…I think you really need to go take a long, hard look at the influence that girl has over you…"

"What…" Sam interrupts, squinting his eyes. The lack of respect Cruz is showing Andy is quickly dissolving any respect that he has for Marlo. He's pretty shocked at her words, actually. Talk about seeing new sides of people. "_That girl's_ name is Andy McNally, Marlo…and irrespective of what's happened between her and I in the past, she is _our_ colleague, and _my_ friend –"

The two stand in a stony-faced stare off for a few silent seconds before Sam starts to back out of the room. "Goodbye, Marlo," he huffs out the farewell, his blood pressure beyond boiling. He turns on his heel and walks out of the room quickly; if he stays there any longer, he'll want to put a pair of gloves on himself.

It takes Sam less than four strides until he's alongside Nash. Scrubs his hand over his face furiously as she plays with her phone.

"Sorry…" She says, looking at him with concern in her eyes. "Just had to tweak arrangements for getting Leo to school on time tomorrow morning."

Sam shakes his head, still working hard at calming his temper. "It's not you…" he starts, but then stops. He blows out a breath, gives Nash a stare that might get his point across. "I think we might be in for a hell of a fight."

Traci's jaw drops open immediately; she's put two and two together alright. "Should I go warn the ref?"

Sam shrugs. "I don't know how serious she is…just...probably we should all keep our eye out, I guess?" He's sounding insane even to himself here, surely Marlo wouldn't do anything underhanded to make whatever ridiculous point it is that she's trying to make. And then he's not sure where Andy's at even –

"Can I go see her?" Sam hitches a thumb in the direction of where he assumes McNally still is.

Nash nods quickly. "You do that, I'm going to go join Oliver…I'll listen out for any news from the other corner as well…"

Sam nods in reply, breathing a little easier again. At least if it looks like the fight is getting ugly, he'll have Nash's help in cooling things down.

He watches Traci walk down the hallway and out through to the ring, and then takes another couple of deep breaths before he walks through the door to McNally –

She's got her back to him when he gets in there, a foot on a bench and lacing up one of her shoes. She's wearing a green, silky gown with a white shamrock on the back…the tip of her dark braid poking the top of the thing.

Sam smirks. Puts his hands in his pockets and keeps his distance. He'd like to rub his hand over her back, but that's not his place anymore. "I thought the 'luck of the Irish' was supposedly bad?" He hears himself ask instead.

She turns to him immediately, a crooked smirk of her own planted firmly in place. "I couldn't kick a gift horse in the mouth…"

Sam's smile grows bigger as he steps further into the room. "Your dad?"

Andy nods, both feet now on the ground and walking in the direction of Sam. She stops a metre away. "Gave it to me this afternoon…he's even coming to watch…"

"He's here…Jesus…should I be concerned?" Sam's eyes widen, his tone light despite some nerves about that particular fact. He's pretty sure Tommy would never lay a finger on him, but Sam wouldn't blame him if he did.

Andy laughs brightly. "He knows I can take care of my own broken heart."

Sam feels nauseous when she says it. It doesn't matter how many times he tells himself they've hurt _one another_, he will never really forgive himself for not…for not fighting harder for her first time around. He nods eventually, knows there's regret all over his face. "I'm sorry…" he says quietly.

"Sam," Andy interrupts softly. "Come on, we've been through that bit."

When he looks at her face properly, he sees the regret there too. But. She is still smiling at him. That's when he sees the forgiveness, realizes her efforts today were about taking steps forward. That just like Sam and his coffee gesture, she too was trying to make inroads to them being _friends_. _This girl ?_ –

She's the strongest woman Sam's ever known.

He smiles at her properly. "I don't come bearing gifts…but I do want to wish you good luck."

He holds out his hand to her, takes the one she offers up and shakes firmly. He looks down at their joined hands as the surge through his body happens, realizes it's the first time they've _really_ touched one another since she's been back. The gesture reminds him of how much he liked holding her hand when they were together –

(Just that. Holding her hand while they were walking, sitting, driving, or in bed…

When the weather was cooler, he'd make her take her mittens off and hook his fingers around hers, squeeze at her palm. He just liked the way her hand – even when it was cold – had this weird ability to warm all of him).

God. He misses her something shocking.

He has for a very long time.

He looks back up at her face, eventually. Notices she's looking down at their hands too. Her eyes startle when she hears Sam clear his throat.

Andy's heart is thumping rabbit-fast with the handshake; Sam's warm, firm hand bringing back memories of her happiest times. She always loved the way their hands found one another. Loved how he'd search for her fingers in the middle of the night and wrap his hand around hers. Loved that it was the one display of affection he never held back from, at just the right times –

Andy barely stops the smile she's got on her face from turning sad…

A good luck before a boxing match with his new girlfriend (if that's what Cruz still is) wasn't exactly how she imagined their reunion with touching might be.

Still. He's here. Trying to be a good friend. That counts for a whole lot.

Sam doesn't miss the sad smile on her face when it happens. He's pretty sure he's got one of his own. He didn't want this to happen, didn't want her thinking negative things before she went out there tonight –

He wants her to do the best she can, put on a show with that mega-watt smile of hers not missing a beat. Still, there's something inside of him that's a little selfish. If it's even just for a half of a minute, he wants her in his arms. Wants to wrap her whole body inside his tight and make sure she gets at least one of the messages that he's trying to send.

He takes a chance and moves in another step closer, tugs at her hand so her torso leans into his. "I know you'll be great, McNally," he says quietly, reaching his other arm out to wrap around her shoulders, and then releasing her hand so he can get that arm around her waist.

He doesn't move any more than that.

Neither does she.

As soon as they're in the position, Sam knows he's done the right thing. She feels just like he remembers; warm and soft, muscles and curves. He works hard at not wanting to slide his hand under her gown. Works harder still at not wanting to take every stitch she's got on all the way off.

Andy is convinced she'd fall if Sam wasn't holding her like this. This long, long agony she's been holding inside for months and months and months is coursing its way through her body, head to toe and then back again –

The only thing is…with every passing second that they stay like this, the agony is slowly fading away. The familiarity of every one of his muscles, every straight line, jut and curve of his body –

Andy feels as though she's finally, finally, actually _home_.

He's warm and solid, even almost the _safe_ that she remembers at one point in time.

The only ache left as she gathers the courage to mirror his position is an ache in her chest. It's almost like some kind of dark void that she doesn't want to think too hard about. She thinks that maybe it has something to do with the fact that like that case today…friends are _friends_…and no more than that.

She guesses if they're friends they can probably hug occasionally, which is great of course…

But. Sam is not _hers. _

For as uplifted as she felt about her enlightenment, she is always, always going to miss that space between _friendship_ and what she would truly love for them to be…

She blinks her eyes a couple of times, realizing she can't afford to be wistful tonight. Later when she's home with a glass of wine, maybe –

But, she made a commitment to the division. She has a job to do now. She pushes to her toes a little, almost knocks herself out with pleasure as she takes in some more of his scent. Berates herself as she blushes, before turning to running a couple of mantras on loop in her head.

When McNally pushes up on her toes, Sam is just about done for. He's not sure whether she did it on purpose, but the gesture lines up their hips. If his brain wasn't hyper-vigilant right now, it's likely he would've hoisted her up.

Sam's next problem is: she smells like his soap. Well, his soap and McNally. He frowns a little in confusion, trying to remember whether they actually used the same stuff in the first place. He's pretty sure he's still got some of her things in his vanity because she hardly ever used them, always used his.

He runs the hand he's got on her shoulder real, real careful down her back as he thinks some more about that. Stops it in its tracks before it gets to a particular spot that he _knows_ he won't be able to come back from, but accidentally brushes his knuckles there anyway and then almost swallows his tongue.

He bites his lip, chastises himself: _You're here to wish your friend good luck._

It's so long since either of them said anything that Sam can't remember whose turn it is to talk. He hopes hard that McNally has something up her sleeve; otherwise he's in danger of wanting to make her miss the fight –

"Well," she says finally, chin on his shoulder as they stay in the embrace. "My main focus is the fact that the charity will be the real winner tonight."

Sam grips into her tighter. Right in that moment he wants to kiss her…or do something…show her just how much he admires and loves her gracious and generous heart. He can't though, and he knows it. It's not his place to play with her affections like that. He has to pull himself together here, keep his emotions in check –

"You're an awesome person, McNally," he whispers back at her. "And I'm happy…that we're friends."

Sam listens closely to the small breath Andy sucks in and hugs her tighter again. "Me too, Sam…" she pulls back from him carefully, reaching back down for his hands. "I want us to be that…I…I've missed us not being that…"

They stand in silence for another minute, just looking at one another and grinning. An apparently silent compromise between the pair of them, that friendship is 100% what they will have.

It's Sam that takes the plunge and breaks the moment this time, knowing full well that it's almost time for her to go out. He considers telling her about the fact he's broken things off with Cruz, considers telling her that she's one of the reasons he did that, that he's still in love with her…no matter what. But no way does Sam want this to become about him. It's not fair to muddy her thoughts when she has to focus on the fight –

He decides in the end, not to say anything about any of that…but just bring her back to what she's up against. "I know it's not your style, McNally…and God only knows what the rest of your camp is telling you…"

Andy giggles, thoughts of Oliver's preaching still ringing loud in her ears. She squeezes Sam's hands lightly, can't wait to hear what his opinion is too.

"But remember what I said to you a couple of mornings ago…when I left you with your training?" Sam knows his voice has gone a touch more serious than what it should, but he desperately needs to send her some sort of message that Cruz is serious about this bout.

Andy grins, cocking her head to the side. Of course she remembers…when it comes to Sam Swarek and his advice (and other things)…she remembers it all. "I believe you suggested I practice my countering."

Sam nods, small smile on his face as he returns the squeeze of her hands. "The best defense is a good offense." He looks into her eyes, to check she's taking him seriously. "You do whatever it is you need to do to protect yourself, McNally." _ I never want you to get hurt ever again_ runs on loop in his head.

She furrows her brow at him, but it looks like she understands.

Sam decides to lighten the moment just a little, get her adrenalin pumping and her face smiling again. "I don't wanna have to get in that ring and pull you outta there bloodied and bruised…" He winks at her, hoping she knows it's a tease that's more aimed at his own desire to pull her out of burning buildings despite how well she can handle herself.

She laughs brightly again, shaking her head and pulling him in for another light hug. "I'm gonna be fine, Sam." He closes his eyes as her hand rubs up and down his back as a gesture to make her other point; "We're gonna be fine."

* * *

And she knows without a doubt that they will be.

No matter what the future holds, they are going to be fine and they are going to be there for each other. And it's… a start.

She's not even sure which one of them lets go, but all too soon, Sam is backing out of the room. He's still got his eyes on her though, and it's nice to know she's not the only one who wants to keep this thing going.

She's pretty sure she hears him chuckle under his breath before he tilts his head and follows it out the door.

She stands smiling over at nothing for a few more seconds before she blows out a long breath and slips down to the bench. She's actually feeling a little lightheaded now that she's coming down from the rush she feels every time he's around, needs to get her heartbeat back to a regular rhythm if she's going to get through this.

When Traci asked her before if he could come in, she was a little surprised, happy for sure, but still surprised. He had told her good luck when she left the station, but this… this was so much better. It was just them and… it really doesn't matter what happens next because… he's there and he isn't going anywhere… and neither is she.

She tightens the robe up around her waist, catches a peek of it in the mirror. Trust her dad to go all out like that. She wonders if he's out there yet; if he's found someone to sit with. She actually thought he might come back…

Her jaw drops. What if he ran into Sam when he was on his way out? She told Sam that he knew she could take care of herself, and she's almost certain he wouldn't do anything… at least not here. But still, Sam probably isn't his favourite person right now despite what little she's said… her father was a detective for way too long not to have put two and two together… or in this case apart.

She shakes her head and shuffles over to the sink to splash some cold water on her face. Sam can take care of himself too; she knows that. And she knows that even if her dad is upset, Sam won't make a scene. He wouldn't do that to her. He would take care of it, like he wants her to take care of herself.

She dries her face on her towel and then throws it onto the bench before she bounces around on her feet a little, just to keep everything loose.

Countering, she can do that and with Nick keeping track, she just has to get out there and push through it. That's it. Get in and get it done.

She's not going to make a spectacle of it, is pretty sure that side pool Andrews has going is riddled with all sorts of woman scorned type items. But she won't be 'that girl' either.

She's not naïve enough to think that Cruz might not try and push a few buttons, so she'll be ready. And she's definitely not going to make it easy on the woman, that's for sure. She'll give Cruz a fight if she wants it, but it'll be fair.

She hears another bell from inside the main auditorium and she's pretty sure it's the second one, which means she'll be up soon. And just like that, Oliver pokes his head in. "We're almost up, champ."

Andy grins big and waves him in. "I was starting to wonder about you," she sings out, "remembered it was wing night at the Penny."

Oliver tips a brow at her in challenge, still he swipes a furtive hand at the side of his pants just in case. "Been here for a bit actually," he defends picking up her towel and water bottle. "Was just spreading the love around." He gives her a quick shrug. "Besides, I knew you were already covered in here."

Andy swipes the bottle of water out of his hands and takes a good long drink, hopes it might cool down the blush she's got going.

Oliver clears his throat then, flicks the towel towards her to get her attention. "Thanks for asking me to be your guy," he tells her sincerely. He knows he's not her first choice but he can live with that, can live with stepping in until the right guy steps up. Still, he is touched that she asked him over everyone.

Andy knows any one of the rookies would have been more than capable, Nick and Traci especially. And all of her friends have had her back on more than one occasion these last few weeks, but Oliver… besides the fact that she knew he would get a kick out of it, it's his assurances (and insights into the inner workings of Sam Swarek) that have really kept her going since she got back. She just couldn't picture being out there with anyone else.

Andy smiles small, has to blink back a little moisture. "Thanks for _always_ being in my corner."

"It's my pleasure," he croaks back, fighting at a little emotion himself. "Besides…" he gives her a cheeky wink, "I always put my money on a sure thing."

* * *

When Sam first got here tonight he was unsure as to where he was going to sit as a member of the 'audience'. His original line of thinking was that he wanted to get a good enough view to at least be appeased that not too much damage is being done, but not so close that it was a dead giveaway as to which (whose) team he's actually on.

As things stand now though, that little display by Cruz…his time with Andy…Sam knows where he wants to stand. And despite the fact he'd like to be McNally's corner-man, he knows that they're not quite there yet. That's Ollie's job tonight. He also knows that he isn't one of the rookies, even though Nash is in that mix. In the end, he decides that standing next to Noelle would be his best bet –

As he scans the room looking for his friend, he smiles small. Feels relieved at where she's standing actually, because he knows now –

His place is in her corner…_somewhere_…at the very least watching her…and cheering her on.

No matter what.

"Thought Ninja might've come too…" Sam says through a smirk, taking position beside Williams. "You know how distracted Oliver gets. I think McNally could do with a spare set of eyes."

Noelle turns in Sam's direction, broad grin on her face. "Sammy," she says, still through the grin. "You're watching the fight from here?"

Sam nods imperceptibly, chews into his bottom lip to tamp down the smirk. He knows Williams can read…some things…about him. He scratches at the back of his neck, thinks of an appropriate response. "Thought this angle would give me a good view."

Noelle nods her head sagely; grin going smug. "That so?" she enquires, looking Sam up and down.

Sam wants to laugh at the look she's giving him, except for the fact it'd be at his expense. He rolls his eyes eventually, Williams' inspection getting the better of him. "Why arrrre you looking at me like that?" He's a glutton for punishment, for sure. His question is just the ammunition that Noelle needed –

"Have you lost a little weight since last night?"

"What?" Sam asks; brow furrowed and a squinted gaze at his friend. He was expecting _something_, but it wasn't quite that…

She glares back deadpan, delivers her explanation with a similar tone. "Off your shoulders, Sammy."

Sam sucks in his cheeks, but then releases a laugh and a breath at the same time. How the hell his colleague can navigate the minefield of Sam's goings on and moods about women, he will never know. In the end, he just nods because he's got no comeback, and it's pointless really…he'd rather focus his energies on getting through the rest of tonight.

* * *

The two fighters from the fire crew are just stepping out of the ring and the mats are getting a quick wipe down. More seats are starting to clear as their fans head to collect their winnings, hit the concession stand and by the looks of it for some, head home.

The seats around Epstein and Diaz open up and Traci, Nick and Gail make their way over. They take the row behind the boys, but Nick doesn't like his vantage point so he shifts down beside Chris to get a better angle.

Gail huffs a little as she waits for him to make up his mind. When it seems like he's finally settled in, she looks over at Traci and nods to the seats in front of him. Without another word, Traci gets up and moves down a couple of rows. Gail follows along behind and when she gets in her seat she leans back and rests against Nick's legs. "Much better," she announces to Traci as she hooks her arms around his knees. "Now we just need to find you someone to lean on."

Traci gets a wistful smile on her face. She's sure Gail didn't mean anything by it, it's just…

Gail's satisfied smirk starts to slide when she catches the look on Traci's face, the one she tries so hard to keep hidden.

God, sometimes her mouth… she generally takes pride in her lack of filter but… it's usually for effect and never at the expense of a friend. She nudges Traci a little with her elbow. "If Dov didn't have the knobby knees of a ten year old girl, I'd offer him up, but like most women, you're probably better off without him."

"Superintendent Peck," Dov calls out over her shoulder.

Gail's eyes flash wide as she spins in her seat and forces a smile of greeting onto her face, but her mother is nowhere to be found.

"Not funny, man boy," she growls out when she turns around.

"A little funny," Traci concedes and the whole group, with the exception of the sole blonde, bursts into a fit of laughter.

* * *

The familiar sound rings out over the noisy crowd and has Noelle looking back over her shoulder.

Ninja's teething right now and she's been standing up most of the day. She turns back to her companion and nods her head to the raucous group. "You wanna sit down, Sammy?"

He gives his shoulders a quick shrug, guesses if she's up for it so is he. Standing or sitting, the deal's done, might as well make it official.

As he gestures for her to lead the way, he sees Nash waving Tommy McNally over. His normally steady gate stutters a little; he hasn't seen Tommy since…

Noelle feels him stall out beside her but doesn't look back. "Never known you to run and hide Sammy."(At least not from anything other than his feelings anyway.)

Sam flashes his teeth quick and gone. "Not hiding," he grumbles, "just… now's not the best time."

"Yeah, well, it's not about you… or him," she retorts ready to push him forward if she has to, "It's about her so… suck it up."

Sam knows she's right, only hopes Tommy sees it the same way because his options are pretty slim. Oliver will be ringside so he can't sit with him… "What about Frank?" He blurts.

"Nice try Sammy," Noelle smirks. "He's rubbing shoulders with the brass." She looks back over her shoulder. "Figures he needs to be impartial anyway." She turns all the way back around, taps the left side of his chest once with her fingers. "But his heart's with the rest of ours."

Sam shakes his head; she will never cease to amaze him. He tamps down the grin but gestures for her to lead the way.

"Got his money on her too, I hear," Sam mutters.

Sam can't see it, but Noelle's got a twinkle in her eye, is pretty certain there'll be one in Sam's in the not too distant future too. "We all do."

* * *

Noelle seats herself behind the girls, leaves the spot right between her and Collins free.

Tommy is just sitting down on the other side of Nick. Dov and Chris have slid in beside the girls after shaking Tommy's hand and freeing up a seat for him. Tommy claps Nick on the back as he settles in beside him. "How does she look, Son?"

Sam blinks a few times, bites back that feeling he gets sometimes when he thinks about just how close GI Joe is to Andy… and maybe to her Dad now too?

Tommy used to call him son a lot too when… well, when.

First time it caught Sam a little flat-footed, took him almost a minute to even find his voice. Which of course Andy found hysterical, teased him relentlessly about it for the rest of the night. That was until he got her home… got a little relentless himself… until he got her a little breathless.

When Tommy looks away from the rookie, the smile drops from his face. But Sam tries to keep his firmly planted on. "Tommy," he nods.

The reply is quick and curt. "Swarek."

Sam knows he has to tread carefully here; he hasn't been Swarek to Tommy since he was a rookie, is feeling more than a little inexperienced right now too, but he soldiers on. "She looks good," Sam answers for Nick. "Saw her practicing a couple days ago and just wished her luck again. She's _ready_."

Tommy's eyes go a little wide at that. Andy hasn't told him a lot but he knows it hasn't been easy since she got back… since before she left. And he knows that Swarek not being around had a lot to do with that.

"Ready or not, she needs to be careful," her dad cautions, "gotta protect herself when it's just her out there."

"She knows what she's doing," Sam assures them both.

"I hope so," Tommy replies because the last thing he wants is to see his little girl hurt… again.

* * *

_Up next: We've got a fight on our hands!_


	5. Touch 'em Up!

_A/N gosh...so...finally the fight. We know some of you have been particularly interested in seeing how this goes down...hopefully the action in the ring (and ring) is written in such a way that you can visualize it well! _

* * *

**Co-written **with** dcj**

**Disclaimer: We don't own Rookie Blue**

* * *

**_'Touch 'em up!'_**

_"That's the most beautiful thing that I like about boxing: you can take a punch. The biggest thing about taking a punch is your ego reacts and there's no better spiritual lesson than trying to not pay attention to your ego's reaction." - David O. Russell_

* * *

There's a roar across the crowd as the music changes; the fight bell ringing over the top of it, and Diaz, Collins and Epstein doing their own hollers of "let's get ready to rumble…"

Sam's jaw clenches straight away. He feels nervous despite the whoops and cheers of the jovial crowd.

It's Marlo that's the first to arrive on the scene; focused stare straight ahead…

Until that is, she spots Sam over the sea of heads in front of him. She raises an eyebrow, no doubt at where he's positioned. Even makes a point of tipping her chin. He thinks he might be off the hook then, as she continues her walk, climbing up to the canvas and stepping under the ropes –

He rolls his eyes when she leans across Andy's corner to give him another questioning smile.

Every person in front turns to look at him as she declares loudly:

"I thought you weren't picking sides."

Epstein and Diaz look like goldfish, the pair wide-eyed and open-mouthed. Traci and Peck, amusingly, move their bodies in front of him like some kind of shield. And Nash might be trying to look polite and friendly about it, but Peck is holding nothing back in giving Marlo a glare.

In his peripheral vision, he duly notes that Noelle is nothing short of bemused.

"No-oo," he drawls out almost a little condescendingly, "I _said_ I didn't have my _money_ on anyone. Didn't _pick_ sides either…" He shifts in his seat between McNally's friends, decides to man up. "… sometimes you just know."

She shrugs her shoulders, _tut-tuts _him as well for God's sake. She's made of steel and persistence or something though, even smiles and winks at him before she heads to her side of the ring.

* * *

Marlo stretches her arms up high, shakes herself off. She still has no doubt that Sam will see the error of his ways; she just needs to show him _more _than before. He's frustrating though…which –

Well, partly the chase is a turn on, actually. Like it was first time around with him. How he was a little cautious, and reluctant at first…

But she knows, if she can get through to him, he'll see what he's missing out on if he keeps going back to McNally. Marlo does not doubt that one little bit.

And as for the girl herself? It's time she heard some home truths.

* * *

Andy emerges just as Marlo is taking a seat on her stool.

She and Oliver are in the middle of an animated conversation, big smiles on each of their faces. When they get ringside, Andy winks at her trainer, rubs a soft hand on his arm as he pulls the ropes apart for her to step in.

She ducks her head and steps through, spotting her friends in the bleachers as soon as she straightens back up. She lifts her gloved hand in greeting, the smile still bright.

"Come on McNally, get your head in the game," Gail growls out. "This isn't a freaking parade." She didn't say anything before, but Dov's not the only one who put his money where his mouth is.

She gets an elbow to the side from Traci and a knee in the back from Nick.

"What?" She barks at both of them, pointy eyebrows up near the ceiling. "She's up there waving like she's the flipping homecoming queen when she's supposed to be psyching herself up to kick Cruz' ass."

Andy just shakes her head as the tail end of Gail's sentence rings out extra loud.

She punches her two fists together, puts on her best tough guy scowl just for Gail, has to work extra hard to keep it there when she hears her friend holler out her best Woo Girl impersonation.

"Show 'em what you got, sweetheart!" She hears her dad yell, lifts her eyes up to find him, but her gaze stops before it gets anywhere near him, because right there behind Gail and Traci… in the middle of her friends… her family… is Sam.

She furrows her brow, looks over her shoulder at Marlo, and notes some empty spots in the bleachers behind her before she turns back to her camp. Traci and Gail are sporting matching grins as their bodies shift to give her a clear view, confirm she's seeing what she's really seeing.

Sam rolls his eyes, can feel those of half the house on him right now, but there's only one set that matters. 'You got this,' he mouths, then throws in a wink with a dimple chaser.

Andy trips a little on her feet when Oliver tries to tug her over to the corner. She pulls her gaze away from Sam but he can't miss the blush or the smile.

Noelle though is more interested in that extra bounce in her step.

* * *

They're sitting that close that it's impossible for Sam _not_ to feel Noelle's shoulders shake in a silent laugh as McNally bobs around –

He knows his own grin is close to splitting his face.

McNally's something else up there, that bounce she's got going and the look in her eye. Sam puts a hand up to his face and scrubs it over his cheeks and chin. It's a boxing match, damn it…not some kind of homecoming parade…

Still. The way everyone in this corner is cheering and waving, the whole atmosphere in here tonight…it might as well be.

Sam sucks in a breath as he hears the bell ring again, the referee taking his place in the middle and calling the two women in.

* * *

Andy takes the two steps into the centre, starts nodding her head immediately in order to acknowledge the ground rules being barked by their referee for tonight:

"I want a clean fight, no hitting below the belt...when I say _break_, I want a clean break...in the event of a knock-down, you will be directed to go to a neutral corner."

She recognizes Joe from previous years, also knows that he's great with the young people that come here; has even trained a few up-and-comers. She knows that he's fair and has the centre's best interests at heart. He wants a good fight, and a clean one at that.

"Protect yourself at all times," Joe reminds them both, his eyes scanning the face of Cruz as he ends his instructions –

Marlo looks focused and determined. Andy's pretty sure she's trying to throw her off with her stare.

Andy bites into her mouthguard, all of a sudden a little extra nervous. If she has deduced the situation correctly, Sam and Cruz are no longer an item…and not that Andy should be reading anything into that in terms of whose decision it was…but if it was Sam's…and if Marlo thinks Andy's partly to blame…although, why would that be the case…if Sam's over Andy…

She blinks a couple of times, chastising herself for over-thinking the situation. She nods, silently resolving that now that she and Sam are definitely 'friends' she can just straight out ask him about what happened. She's done with assuming and speculating. She'll pick a good time and place, make sure he knows she's asking out of concern…as a friend.

Andy tries on a small friendly smile, holds out her gloves.

* * *

Marlo looks down at the gloves of McNally, eventually raising her own. They tap out a boxer's handshake and look into one another's eyes.

Cruz is kind of impressed with the rookie - all brazen and full of enthusiasm, bouncing around on her feet. She briefly puts some thought into whether _that's _what Swarek likes about the girl. She was his rookie after all; maybe the guy's got more issues than she thought…maybe he likes having a lapdog, some little bimbo that he can boss about day and night…

Marlo scoffs silently. _Surely not_, she tells herself. He seemed fairly sure of himself when they were together, appeared to know what he wanted and when he wanted something in the relationship (which wasn't a lot) without being bossy about it. He was also generally respectful of Marlo's needs too. Well…except for the fact that he couldn't get his head around things when she wanted _more_.

The whole thought process only leads to a greater desire within Marlo; Sam Swarek is quite the enigma, and she wants to know _more_ –

Andy McNally on the other hand, is an obstacle, and she just has to be gotten out of the way.

The women tap gloves one final time, and then both take steps back into their corner to wait for the next bell to ring, and the ref's arm to fall…

* * *

"You got this," Andy hears Oliver say as she gets back to her corner and waits.

The words are accompanied by a vision of Sam mouthing them just moments ago, and she smiles at the thought.

As she disposes of her robe and takes another suck at some water, she chances a final look in the direction of Sam.

She can't help but smile small when she sees him again. She'd assumed he'd still be there, but that annoying voice inside her did suggest he might've moved in this last minute or so.

She smiles bigger when he gives her another wink and the dimples. God. Do they even need to fight anymore? Can't Andy just go into the audience and sit next to him. Put Gail in here instead?

She shakes her head, clearing the thoughts. This is for charity, she has a job to do… she needs to focus on now. And then…

And then.

"C'mon, champ," Ollie commands loudly, some final slaps to her shoulders. "Be ready for anything."

Andy grunts and bounces to get herself pumped…and she actually is, is the thing. She's excited to be getting a good work-out, employing some new tactics she's learned.

It only takes some more noise and the ref's whistle to get herself firing on all cylinders. Also, in the last ten seconds she seems to have conjured up a new mantra or two to go with the 'it's for charity': 'it's for Sam' and 'it's for… us'.

Cruz moves in early and fast, catching Andy off guard with three right jabs hard into her left shoulder. They're enough to confirm that Marlo means business, and also: the petite woman has some power in her punch.

Andy swerves to miss another few of a similar style, and takes a few steps back in the process – in need of some space to figure things out.

Going into the match, Andy was convinced she could sit well in her own style; crowd Marlo when she got some momentum, but then wait out whatever might've remained of their three rounds with good defence.

But what Andy's realizing straight up, is that her natural M.O. will be hard up to do what she wants. If Cruz is on a mission, she could have Andy's number before this round is out. "Nice," she pants, without thinking – genuinely impressed with Marlo's persistence; relentless jabbing that manages to continue to connect into Andy's left and right sides.

"I know," Cruz replies, as she goes for a straight punch into Andy's stomach, smug smile on her face.

Despite her pivot, Andy managed to catch the tail-end of the thing, and it actually hurt.

* * *

"C'mon, McNally!" Sam barks at the straight she just collected. "Time that footwork of yours…"

He was out of his seat as soon as he saw the wince on her face, was ready to run into the ring. Noelle's got a grip on his arm though, is yelling out some of her own orders that Sam can barely make out above the noise of the rest of the crowd. He does hear her agree with him on that last part though; "Yeah, McNally. Use your damn feet."

Their sightlines are obstructed by the fact that everyone is standing in front of them, and many are up on their chairs. Sam blows out an exasperated breath as he pokes a finger in the direction of Collins and the other rookies to try and get them to move. He can't see McNally properly anymore, and it's making him more than anxious, especially when he starts hearing some more _oohs_ and _aahs_ from the crowd –

He scratches at his chest, trying to send some kind of silent message to Oliver to scream at McNally to move further _out_…give herself some time and space in this round.

He breathes a small sigh of relief when Nash turns to him, gives him a couple of thumbs up. "She's getting a groove with her defence, her blocking's spot on."

Sam raises his eyebrows at his partner though; he doesn't want to have to rely on a commentary –

"Glad to hear," he snaps, his jaw still feeling tight. "But I wouldn't mind seeing this for myself."

* * *

"Thatta girl, champ," Oliver yelps, fists pumping the air as he continues to follow McNally's moves with his eyes. There isn't a whole lot of time left in this round, which is a pity, because finally, finally, the rookie seems to be getting her mojo for this.

He has to scream to be heard though; wills her to stick with all defence for now. Decides their best option is to wear Cruz down; the series of punches she's throwing are being matched by McNally for now…

He's like a proud big brother, the way Andy's fending things off. If she can keep parrying and rolling like she is, surely Cruz will back off –

* * *

Marlo knows she's got this.

McNally's defence is better than she anticipated, but if she doesn't start to throw some punches herself soon, at the very least Cruz will win on points.

Also: if the rookie thinks she can wear her down, she'll be sorely disappointed. Marlo's fitness is something she's extremely proud of. She's got enough endurance to go ten rounds or more at this rate. The three rounds they're fighting are a cinch in her books.

She grins a little at McNally, tries on a hook that is evaded by her opponent managing to step back in time. Marlo goes again though –

Even manages to land a nice uppercut to the chin.

She smirks as she hears the blue corner groan, almost says out loud; "you ain't seen nothing yet." Screw the rookies and their petulance; she'll show them what experience brings.

The end of round one rings loudly, crowd booing and carrying on with words Marlo can barely make out. She's happy with her lot though, ready again already to up the ante…before she even takes a break.

She watches McNally as she walks back to her corner, a towel and hug thrown her way by Shaw.

She looks up into the bleachers and spots Sam amidst the sea of rookies, gives him a wink.

* * *

Sam bites into his lip, nauseous.

What the hell was he ever thinking? It's like Cruz is some sort of Jekyll and Hyde. The woman was friendly and down-to-earth and happy when they were dating…and now she's just…smug?

He pops some gum in his mouth, desperately wants to go and see Andy. She's taken a few hits despite the good defence she put up. He wants to tell her to mix things up a little, she's taking this too lightly. He wants to remind her of those times they trained together, how sometimes they would try to switch styles just to keep one another (and themselves) on their toes…

* * *

For the last few seconds of the round, Nick's had one eye on the fight and one eye on the clock. The break between rounds isn't long; he knows this from experience, knows he's got next to no time to tell Andy what she needs to hear. He's furiously searching his pockets for a piece of paper, snatches up Gail's purse just as the bell goes. He's already got his hand on the pen before she grapples to get it back. "Hey!"

"I needed a pen," he mutters, already scratching it furiously across the back of the receipt he found in his pocket.

The second Andy put her eye on Swarek, she hasn't really looked at anyone else. Nick figures even if she does have time, it won't be him she's looking for, even if he did tell her she should. Any other situation and he'd just text her if he needed to tell her something. Hell of a lot of good that does now though.

But she needs to know – another round like that and she won't stand a chance.

* * *

Sam's sitting back in his seat but his leg is bouncing up and down. It's taking everything he has not to just march over there and pull Oliver out of the way so he can get in her ear.

"He's got her," Noelle assures him, still has that solid grip on his arm. "They know, okay? They'll figure it out."

Sam really hopes so, but he's not so sure. Oliver's great, but he's not a fighter, never has been, talks his way out of most confrontations, has talked Sam out of more than one too. (Why the hell didn't she pick Collins or… well… Collins?)

Nick's on his feet beside him calling out to one of the young kids on the floor nearby. "Jesse!"

A ball cap covered head of dirty blonde hair turns and then smiles as he takes a few steps closer. "Hey, Officer Nick."

Nick thrusts a folded up piece of paper out to the twelve year old and then tips his chin to the blue corner. "Can you take this over to Officer McNally?"

Jesse shifts his skateboard into his other hands and grins. "Sure thing." He's had a bit of a crush on Andy since they helped him out a couple weeks back, right after they got home.

"What's that?" Sam growls out over Nick's shoulder, causing Jesse to take a step back.

Nick glares back at Sam; they really don't have time for this but he knows Swarek well enough to know that he won't back down, especially when it comes to Andy. "The points, she needs to know what she has to make up for."

Sam nods at Jesse. "Kid!" He barks out at him.

"Yeah?" Jesse stutters out, feeling more than a little intimated by the gruff tone.

"Bring that here," Sam orders, curling his outstretched fingers forward a couple of times.

"We only have a minute," Nick reminds him.

"I only need a second," Sam barks back before he grabs the paper, plucks the pen from Nick's hand, and scribbles down a note of his own.

He thrusts the paper back into Jesse's hand and nods toward McNally. "Now hurry," he orders the kid who takes off running. He's never met the officer before but is pretty sure he doesn't want to let him down.

When they sit back in their seats, Sam turns his head to Nick. "You really think she's down by five?"

Nick purses his lips together, knows he was being a little generous to Andy. "At least."

Sam scratches at his chin, the muscle in his jaw jumping at the increased tension. "Damn it."

"What'd you say?"

Sam turns away, looks over at Andy to see the young boy approach her. "Nothing she doesn't know already."

* * *

"Gotta step it up, Champ," Oliver lets her know once he's done with the hug. He rubs at her shoulders a little to try and loosen up any knots that have taken up residence, winces at a few of his own.

Andy's head's bobbing in agreement. "I know. It's not working though. I can't seem to get inside like I want to," she admits with a scowl. "I'm trying but I can't find the opening I need; I can only push so far without getting knocked back on my ass." She doesn't understand _why_ she hasn't found that opening yet when she was trying so hard -

She scoops the water bottle up off the mat and squeezes in a mouthful before she spits it out into the bucket Oliver's holding up. She pulls her face back up, a wrinkle worrying her forehead. "How bad is it?

Oliver's shaking his head, pushes the towel at her to get her to wipe herself down. "I don't know the numbers but…"

Andy holds up a finger for Oliver to give her a second. She spins in her seat and leans around him to see if she can get a look over at Nick; he said he'd have the numbers for her. She leans on the ropes and pushes to her feet, but she can't get a clear line; there are too many people in the way.

She drops her head down when she hears her name being called softly below her. She recognizes a kid from the neighbourhood that they helped out just after she and Nick got back. "Hey Jess. What's this," she asks putting on a polite and brave face. She doesn't have a lot of time but she also knows that everything she does and says will have an effect on a kid like him.

Jesse grins wide up at her, the adoration shining in his eyes. "It's from Officer Nick," he states proudly.

Right now Andy loves both Nick and Jess, smiles brightly at the boy as she tips the beak of his ball cap down. "Thanks buddy."

The blush the kid has going would rival Andy's on a good day, but he still manages to stutter out. "You're doing great."

Andy laughs at him a little. "Nice try," she mutters, points her eyebrow up a little, "Thought we decided you were going to stick with telling the truth these days?"

The pink in Jesse's cheeks deepens about three shades and the smile starts to slide a little in worry. Andy lets him off the hook though, tips her chin over at his buddies, grins big at him again. "Stay out of trouble."

"Yes, ma'am," he agrees and jogs over to his friends.

Andy opens up the note and it's short and sweet. _'Good defence. But you need points to win. She's +5.'_

Andy groans to herself, was hoping it wasn't quite that bad. She's about to fold it up when she sees some familiar scrawl on the bottom half_. 'TIME and SPACE.' _

Andy's mind immediately travels back to when they trained together, how sometimes they would try to switch styles just to keep each other on their toes… how he kept teasing her about _time_ and _space,_ two things that just didn't work for her. She grins a little to herself… until then… and now:

_Time_ - She can't get in and press like she has been; it's not getting her anywhere. She needs to hang back, keep her distance, bide her time, look for the openings (read the signs) and then take them.

_Space_ - She tries to remember what Sam told her, what he showed her – how _he_ stays back, watches, learns, doesn't let himself get rocked by the big hit.

She smirks up at Oliver, gleam in her eye. He doesn't have to say it, can see it in her face. 'She's got this'. This is her fight now.

He doesn't even look at the paper she passes over to him. Doesn't matter; they're only looking forward now.

* * *

The bell rings telling her it's time to get back on her feet. She swirls one last gulp of water around in her mouth and then spits like a true champion. Grins big up at Oliver after she does, gets a pretty good chuckle back for her efforts.

Marlo doesn't waste any time. Comes in early and fast again, but this time Andy's ready. Blocks everything Cruz throws at her, even smirks a little in triumph. Except then her body's stuck on automatic pilot and she finds herself unintentionally moving in closer until Marlo lands a left hook.

"_On. Your. Toes. _McNally," Sam barks out, stressing every single word. She's not sure if everything just went quiet then or if it's because she's so in tuned to him and his voice, but the message gets through loud and clear.

She bounces back a step, eyes up Cruz a little more. She knows she can't just sit by and watch though… wait until it's too late. So she keeps her feet moving, throws out a couple of long punches in experimentation, uses the time and space to really study Cruz.

And then she sees it. _The signs. _There's a distinct rhythm to Cruz' game here. Whenever she's going with the uppercut her shoulder drops for a second first. And right before her straight punch…

As soon as Andy sees the next one coming, she's counters with a left jab square into Marlo's chest.

Andy finds the huff of air that comes out of the other woman to be very satisfying and she can't hold back the grin. "Awesome," she utters on her next breath.

They trade a few punches after that with nothing really connecting, except the dots in McNally's brain as she sticks to the outside. She watches, waits, and then weaves to the left and lands another jab into the side of Cruz.

Marlo's eyebrows jump a little; McNally's turned it up another notch and she's going to have to step up her own game if she's going to stay ahead. "Look at you, McNally, trying to play with the big girls."

* * *

Andy doesn't let her focus waver; in fact, she lets Cruz's words roll right off her back. She's too busy preparing to test another theory, this time with Cruz's left jab.

And… here it comes…

She opens herself up... and Andy's already throwing a right straight punch directly at her head.

* * *

"Nice!" Sam yells, knows now she got the message. It never did take her long…ever. He definitely lucked out when he got her as his rookie. She was always quick to catch on… only really ever had to say things once… sometimes didn't even have to say them at all… she just knew… on the job anyway. Off the job… well, off the job he wishes he would have realized just how lucky he was too… wishes maybe he might have said a few things out loud and a little more often. He shakes his head, now's not really the time…

He turns to the woman next to him, just a quick check to make sure she's not setting up shop inside his head… again. Is a little surprised when it's Traci's face that smiles back at him. Over the course of the round, he's somehow managed to make his way forward a row and is now sandwiched between Nash and Peck. It doesn't matter though as long as he can keep a good eye on Andy.

As if she could hear his thoughts, Noelle reaches out and squeezes at his shoulders. She never takes her eyes off the ring though and cheers loud when Andy lands another punch. "Hohhhh!"

Her grip on Sam's starting to edge into uncomfortable now so he shakes at his shoulders a little. When she looks down, she gives him a quick wink and promptly releases her hold. "Sorry, Sammy; got a little carried away."

Sam seriously considers bringing her down there beside them, actually wouldn't mind if she rings the neck of the guy in front of him who can't seem to stand still. Idiot's got his head in the way again, does it just about every time McNally makes a move. Sam's done more bobbing and weaving than the two women in the ring combined.

He side steps a little 'til he's got her in his sights again.

* * *

Traci side-steps along with him, leans her head right in next to his without taking her eyes off the ring. "Must have been some note."

Sam's eyes shift over to her just for a second; she's not looking at him right now but she's got some kind of smug 'I know something you don't know' kind of expression going. But what she thinks she knows…

Sam furrows his brow, swipes a hand over his mouth and rubs it against his chin. "Seems to have done the trick," he answers evasively.

Traci's eyebrows climb up a little. "Care to tell me what you might have said," she inquires keeping her gaze steadfastly glued to the bout in front of her.

"Just a couple words…" he shrugs, "hard to put much on a little piece of paper..."

Traci nods, huffs out a soft breath at the same time. She can't help but recall another little note written not all that long ago on a tiny piece of yellow paper. She knows that a couple of words can make all the difference in the world… for the right person.

"Two or three words are sometimes all that it takes… and you just know," she mutters – mostly to herself.

* * *

Oliver is practically jumping from the corner. This round is definitely going to McNally. He takes a peek over at the clock; there's not much time left at all. He's not sure if she's even yet or not, but when he looks back at Collins and sees a fresh paper in his hands, he's sure they'll know soon enough.

"One more, McNally," he hollers out. Can see Cruz is showing a little wear now, what with all those punches she's been throwing… and missing. She's had to step it up a little, try to better her odds by upping the count.

He has to give it to her though; she just does not give up. She's giving it all she's got.

It's not enough though… not right now anyway because McNally has definitely taken the upper hand. And Oliver's got a pretty good feeling about how the rest might turn out too.

* * *

Marlo's heavy breaths echo in her ears as she blocks one of McNally's shots… barely. (McNally has definitely picked up the pace, changed her tactics a little too. She's not jumping right in; she's hanging back using her head a little more.)

Marlo has to hand it to her; the girl does catch on quick – making her work a little harder, pushing her to throw more at her.

She's not ready to give up any ground though, knows she has the wherewithal to offset anything McNally throws at her. She'll be the one standing in the end… guaranteed.

Time's running out… at least for this round, and Marlo's determined to make it count - goes in for a hard right cross. She can hear the whole crowd suck in a loud breath when she misses, but she's still got one more shot at this. And she hasn't exhausted all of her tricks…

The bell rings out loud and Marlo spins on her heel and heads to her corner. She knows she's lost a little ground, but she's not out of it yet. Wants to make sure Sam knows it too, maybe see if she can get another reaction out of him – likes to get him riled up a little… feeling something.

* * *

She looks for him up in the stands again and yeah… doesn't really like the _feeling_ she's getting right now – what with his eyes glued to McNally and his heart pretty much out there on his sleeve.

Marlo flops back on her stool, takes the water bottle from her trainer as soon as the thing is within reach. She puts her towel over her face for a second, momentarily defeated by seeing that look in Sam's eyes…

She's never had someone look at her quite the way he looks at McNally. As she peeks over the edge of her towel again she sees everything she ever wanted in a partner; this respect and adoration…and something else she can't quite put her finger on.

He's totally enamoured with the rookie, completely caught up in whatever it is that McNally has, that apparently Marlo does not. For a fleeting moment, the thought of it makes her sad, but then she feels her anger rising up again –

As her trainer barks instructions, she barely listens. She already knows what to do. Marlo refuses to let anyone get the better of her, Swarek and McNally are both going down now.

* * *

Oliver is jumping about like a chimp when Andy reaches her corner. She's ecstatic when she sees him too - this sense of elation over how things are starting to come together, how everything actually started to feel kind of…right.

Her corner-man smacks her on the back, his acknowledgment; "that's better, McNally. You got this in the bag."

Andy smiles broadly, completely pleased that her improvement has been duly noted. She shrugs a little as she takes her water and towel, knows she's not ahead yet. "Still behind on points," she puffs, even though she's not too concerned about that. She's just enjoying being out there now, and that she's using her skills in conjunction with what she's learned from Sam.

Oliver nods, his face going deadly serious all of a sudden. "But you're gonna catch up," he informs, squeezing her shoulders. "And then you're going to take the lead… and never look back."

"So…I keep doing what I'm doing," Andy wonders out loud, fairly certain that if things stay as they are, she can close the gap on any points she still has to make up. Only then she worries a little; Cruz is no dummy, she'll have been reading the changes in Andy's tactics, and will no doubt have some of her own up her sleeve.

Andy takes another sip at her water and swallows, considers just how far behind she still is. She looks over her shoulder to the faces behind her, sees Nick scribble another note…

* * *

Gail was prepared for army-boy this time; had her pen and her freshest dry-cleaning receipt at the ready for him. "Hurry up," she demands coolly, as Nick fumbles with the lid of the pen. She snatches the paper out of his hand before the ink is even dry on the '_7-4 to Cruz'_.

"I need to write more…" Nick whines, contemplating what else he can possibly tell Andy to get her some quick points.

"No, _you_ don't," Gail snaps, turning her whole body away from her boyfriend so she can get to the person who does. "Shoo, kid," she instructs Jesse, the youngster looking up at her expectantly and hoping for another close encounter with his favourite officer.

She shunts her hand in the direction of Swarek, wills him to get that goofy look off his face and stop staring at Andy for at least three seconds.

"Go give this to Andy," she orders, no room for buts. "She needs to see it from _you_."

Gail's mouth twitches when he rolls his eyes at her, but it's possible they're both fighting a smile. "And just goddamn tell her to win already." She huffs out a breath at the end of it, exasperated with all the years she's had to stand on the sidelines and watch these two make such a…

Mess.

Clearly the two stooges are meant for one another, and this game they're playing is taking up too much space in Gail's brain.

She'll be damned if she's going to stand by in a dark spot and let these two make fools of themselves again. She'd much prefer to spend those precious moments thinking about her own heinous love life, rather than theirs.

* * *

Sam yanks the small scrap of paper from Peck's chilly fingers, gives her a bit of a glare. He refuses to be bossed about by the blonde; he doesn't care whose damn-well daughter she is…

Still. She's got a point on this occasion, he'd much rather deliver his message personally, than have some scrawny kid or Collins do it for him.

He rolls his eyes at Peck and the rest of the rookies for appearances sake. "Well," he snorts. "Get out of my way." It's a tight enough squeeze as it is to make his way down there, let alone the fact that everyone seems in the way.

As Sam looks up to the clock, he realizes he's got less than two minutes to get to her, give her the paper, and tell her his opinion on another thing that might help…

* * *

It's both the longest and shortest two minutes of Sam's life. Everything seems to be moving in fast-forward except for him. The break clock is ticking over too quickly as he tries to climb over laps and seats…even though he does seem to be crowd-surfed at one point.

Lucky for Sam, Epstein is stronger than he looks, the kid practically carts him half the way down; bemused stares from the rookies, Noelle and Tommy's eyes and grins following them as they go.

* * *

By the time Sam gets ringside, he's got a grand total of 60 seconds to do what he needs. "McNally," he pants breathless, holding his right arm in the air with the note aloft.

Andy and Oliver turn in unison, surprised looks on both their faces.

Ollie grins immediately, and throws a wink Andy's way. "Looks like your real corner-man decided to step up".

Andy blushes…again, but can't help but smile at all the connotations of that. She leans on the rope, angling her body towards Sam so she can reach for the note.

He steps in closer as she does it but doesn't release the paper even though she tries to tug it out of his hand. She frowns and bends further, her face practically right next to his. "Sam?" She's confused as to why he isn't showing her the note. Has he been covert this whole time and actually wants Marlo to win…

"Done keeping score," he whispers loud enough for Andy's ears, but nobody else.

Andy lets out a small gasp; her entire being just felt like it stepped off some ledge. It wasn't even what he said really, it was the way he said it. Warm brown eyes boring into her own, this rough edge of his voice riding over some soft.

He backs it up with the way his hand holds on to her, the paper now scrunched between both of their palms. "Quit worrying who's out in front, I know you don't really care anyway," he continues quietly, this gentle but strong voice that stirs at Andy's insides. "You're the better fighter, you've got her on the ropes. Just... Keep on your toes." He squeezes her hand gently, smiles small. "You don't need _chance_, McNally. Just keep _fighting. _ We've got this. This is _our_ bout."

Andy realizes then; if she keeps focused, keeps her footwork in order, keeps switching things up…she _will_ fight a good fight. It's up to Cruz then to come to the party. Either the TO will give in, or keep at it…that's what fighting is about. It can be both predictable and unpredictable, you just have to keep reading the signs, roll with the punches, and throw some of your own…when the timing is right.

She smiles brightly at Sam, nodding her head. She gets it, she does. And the '_we've _got this. This is _our_ bout…" makes her heart feel like it's going to come all the way out of her chest. She will fight and keep fighting, and never give in.

* * *

Sam doesn't want to let go of her sweaty palm, but he knows he has to. Knows the fight's not quite over yet. Cruz doesn't look as though she's going to give in, so there's still work to be done.

He wonders what else a good _friend _might say to McNally in this situation, if there are any specific strategic hints he can give. He's pretty sure he's helped to get Andy pumped, but he also wants to get her to show Cruz exactly _how_ good she is –

As he grips into her right hand, he rolls his eyes at himself. Smiles slowly and looks back up into hers. "Remember that day you knocked me off my feet?"

Andy giggles; they don't have time to share memories right now. Still: "which one?" she teases, only just stopping her tongue from poking out.

Sam rolls his eyes again friendly, smiles back at her with his tongue in his cheek. "The time you remembered that I'm right handed…and that you are _not_." He lets go of her hand then, winks up at her.

"Oh." Her own smile spreads again as the bell rings. "Ohh." Andy gets it, alright… Marlo is right handed.

(That day in the ring Sam was talking about? They kept going and going, Sam completely infuriating her by keeping his distance and being persistent with every kind of defence he could throw at her.

Andy got so frustrated with him that she ended up standing back herself for a while – let him come at her with a series of niggling, teasing right jabs…

Until eventually she snapped, her countering skills showing great potential that day. After she'd spent a quick ten seconds working out the pattern of his jabs, she threw her left cross straight down the middle and the power of it landed him right on his ass.

Of course, she dived on top of him straight after to make sure he was okay, but Sam just laid there and laughed between groans; "damn southpaws…you all should be banned.")

Sam nods, takes a single step back. Wants to say a thousand other things, but sticks with; "show me what you got."

Andy knocks her gloves together and then points them in his direction. Without even thinking, she says her newest mantra out loud:

"This one's for us."

* * *

Whatever was happening over in the blue corner has got Cruz extra stirred up. Both Oliver and Sam were giving pointers and pumping McNally up to the roof.

Clearly, Marlo is now…more than ever…just wanting to _win_. She will show everyone who the better woman is, even if that better woman doesn't win over Sam Swarek's heart.

Andy McNally may have clawed her way back in the second round, but Marlo has spotted some clues. The rookie was using a mix of styles, and Marlo is no slouch with doing a little of that herself.

She stands steady at the outside and decides to switch some things up. Decides to keep McNally guessing, mirroring the rookie's movements and waiting her out for a while –

* * *

Cruz putting some distance between them at the start of round 3 doesn't surprise Andy. She figured the TO would switch things up a little.

Andy respects the move too; Marlo has moved out of her comfort zone and is determined to wait this thing out.

Andy decides to go in, throw a few quick punches for points, swarm Marlo and see how she reacts. It does surprise Andy when Marlo actually lets her land a couple of hooks without much defense.

"Impressive, McNally," Marlo goads, finally bobbing and weaving to get out of Andy's reach. "Looks like _someone's_ been giving you some good tips."

Andy furrows her brow, feels her whole headgear almost drop down. From where she's standing, it looks like Marlo has something up her sleeve…but her stance…_nothing_ is familiar…

"Toes!" Sam and Oliver yell at her at the same time, both men noticing the over-thinking McNally was starting to do.

Andy pushes up and bounces around…remember the footwork, right. She's just got to go with this, keep her eyes on the signs…

Only then it's not her eyes that cop it, it's her ears…and the next ten seconds or so are something Andy would rather forget -

Marlo rushes into her space low, a flurry of punches aimed straight at her ribs…lower in some cases…much lower…

Andy would definitely be in some agony if they'd all connected, in fact her only saving grace in those seconds _is_ her good defence. She manages to ward off most of what Cruz throws at her with a series of blocks to the TO's wrists. She'd say something to her about how close she's getting to the belt, but she's far to focussed on weathering the storm –

Sam is barely breathing, and hardly any sound is coming out of his mouth any more. He's been yelling at the referee for what feels like hours; demanding the guy warn Cruz about how close she's getting to being below the belt.

When Oliver takes up that cause, Sam switches his attention back to Andy. He jumps up to where Shaw is, is pretty sure whatever he is managing to say is getting drowned by the din of the crowd but still...

"McNally…" he yells, a last-ditch reminder… "the best defence…"

He doesn't finish the sentence, knows he doesn't need to. But also, he's trying to lip-read whatever Cruz is saying to her. Sam can't make it out, but from the expression of Andy's face, he figures the words landed somewhere that hurt –

* * *

It's a series of ugly sentences that Marlo throws Andy's way. The words hitting harder than punches ever could. As the TO throws her fist over and over, she insinuates: "You never loved him, how could you - you walked away, he was just one more string to your bow…"

The TO also goes on to tell Andy that "Sam is better off without you, at least that way he won't get himself killed"…amongst a host of other things that it hurts Andy to hear.

A series of flashbacks run through Andy's mind; everything that's ever happened between her and Sam - all buttoned-up. How dare this woman even profess to know what they've been through…what they mean to one another…

It's as Sam shouts from the sidelines that damn line about the 'best defence' that Andy clocks her, the same powerful left straight, right into the stomach of Cruz. Only this time the punch is about 10 times heavier and sends Marlo to the other side of the ring, landing the woman on her backside.

* * *

Sam's jaw drops open when it happens; if it wasn't a friendly fight, he would've cheered a little too loud. It was a clean punch that McNally landed on Marlo; similar to the one he was once on the receiving end of.

He stands there a little gobsmacked for a few seconds, is pretty sure the rest of the crowd is too. He can't blame McNally for the heavy-hand, Cruz herself was pulling out all stops. He is a little concerned for Marlo though, she's not looking too great. Still, it's likely to only have winded her, no long term damage in that.

* * *

Andy looks on shell-shocked as the TO tries to get to her feet, but doubles over instead. The wind is knocked out of the senior officer, and she's not getting up –

Andy jogs toward her opponent, all sorts of embarrassed and sorry that things went that far. She's still upset at all the accusations, but she's mortified that she may have hurt Marlo…

"Don't come near me," Cruz growls at her, looking up at Andy fiercely. "Just leave… get off your high horse and go."

* * *

"I just…I'm sorry," she gasps, checking first that Marlo is relatively okay before she ducks through the ropes –

And then runs.

* * *

_Up Next: The mop up..._


	6. Against the Ropes

_A/N: Thanks for continuing to read and review guys! We realise last chapter's ending may have been a little controversial...frustrating even for some ;) There are reasons it headed that way of course..._

_to the twitter peeps who have been smacked across the face with that spoiler today, this one is up early for you..._

_They might have us against the ropes, but we will NEVER give up this fight._

* * *

**Co-written** with** dcj**

**Disclaimer: We don't own Rookie Blue**

* * *

**_'Against the Ropes'_**

_Reality show? You can't find anything better than boxing because of the trials and errors, the ups and downs, the struggle when you get knocked down to get back up. Use it symbolically and interchangeably for life. - Don King_

* * *

"Andy…Andy…Andy…" It's Sam that catches her in the slim space she's trying to weave her way through. When he has her shoulders in the firm grip of his hands, he manages to look into her eyes. She looks…horrified. He lowers his voice, wants to calm her down. "You okay?"

Andy wrestles out of the hold he has on her, averting his gaze; "Sorry…I'm so sorry…I didn't mean…"

He rubs his hands up and down her arms, trying to get eye contact with her again and tell her it'll all be okay. She won't look at him though, more than likely embarrassed and feeling bad about how things have transpired.

She breaks free eventually. "Sorry…tell her I'm sorry…Sam…" she chokes out, and then breaks into another run.

Sam tries to follow her, but it's Oliver that holds him back. "Time and space, buddy…"

Sam clenches his jaw, glares at Shaw. "I wanna know what Cruz said," he barks at Oliver. "McNally doesn't just snap…" If Cruz has said anything to McNally that might destroy any progress that's been made this past couple of days… He is furious at the thought of it. It's one thing for Marlo to blame him for what happened between them, but her dragging Andy into this is unacceptable. "Go check on her," Sam tells Oliver, pushing him in the direction of the change rooms. "Tell her I'm coming in soon, whether she wants to see me or not."

* * *

"Are you alright?" Sam manages to enquire with some sense of polite to Cruz when he gets to her corner. Checking on her health is not the main reason he's here...but...he can't bring himself to stoop to the level she clearly did. He also doesn't like the thought of her incurring a serious injury. At least she's now sitting upright though, so that's a good sign.

The referee is in the centre of the ring conversing with the judges, no prizes at guessing that Andy is the winner overall.

She rubs at her stomach and takes a couple of breaths in, looks at Sam sideways. "What do you care, Swarek? You're clearly getting back together with her and McNally's the winner."

Sam shakes his head, opening his mouth to reply. He sucks in some oxygen to help his brain out, puts his hands on his hips. "I get that you're hurt, Marlo. But I begged you to lay off McNally. I wanted you and me to be friends…for all of us…just…to get along…" He chews at his bottom lip, lets out a dry laugh. "You need to tell me what the hell you said to her."

Marlo snorts. "Let me guess. That was the first question you really wanted to ask." She looks him up and down. "The girl packs a punch, but I'll be good as new in a minute, thank you very much."

Sam taps his foot, still waiting for an answer to his other question. He folds his arms; worried he might try to shake it out of Cruz. "What did you say?" he repeats slowly.

"Concerned I might've screwed up your chances for a happy reunion?" she raises an eyebrow at him. She laughs at the stare he gives her. "God. You really are hopelessly in love with the girl, aren't you?"

Sam keeps staring, has no interest in divulging _anything _personal to his colleague ever again. "Are you gonna give me an answer, or not?" he asks again, voice going cooler by the second.

Marlo _hmphs_, and shakes her head. "I'll let her tell you the gory details, Swarek. No doubt you want to hear her side of things anyway."

Sam turns on his heel and pushes past Marlo's trainer, picks up some pace as he considers the possibility that he and McNally are all of a sudden back at square one.

* * *

Marlo watches his retreating figure with some curiosity. She's got to give the pair some credit. They may be a mismatch and doomed as far as she's concerned, but there's something between them that obviously keeps bringing them back together.

She throws her head back and laughs at herself – cannot for the life of her believe she let her emotions run away over some guy. She's still dirty about the fact that McNally won the bout, but she knows that she was been beaten by the better…or at least, more determined…fighter on the night.

She resolves herself to standing and smiling at the crowd. They may have seen one chink in her armour tonight, but she refuses to let them see any more. She hopes Frank can forgive her for the little indiscretion, hopes things can be relatively normal for her when she turns up to 15 in the morning…albeit a little bit bruised.

Whatever happens, Marlo will keep smiling. Because that's what you do. You pick yourself up, dust yourself off…

And go after a _different _prize.

* * *

Andy is seconds away from the sanctuary of the change room when she hears her name being called behind her. If it was anyone else, she would have probably just ignored them. But she knows how much it would hurt him if she did, knows she has to man up to what she did, and knows he can't follow her in.

She swipes at the tears in her eyes and then closes them for a second as she takes a deep breath. She spins on her feet and pushes as much cheer into her voice as she can. "Heyyy."

He catches the glint of a tear in her eye and his brow furrows with confusion and worry. "What's wrong Officer Andy? Why aren't you happy? You won!" Jesse crows proudly.

She purses her lips into a soft smile. "Yeah, I did… I just… I shouldn't have…" She really doesn't know how she is going to explain this. She is supposed to be a role model for the kids that come to the community centre, that's what this night is all about. And she basically just lost it in front of… everyone. Pretty much did the exact opposite of what they are trying to teach these kids.

Andy pulls in a long breath, tries to sort her way through her thoughts a little. "Remember how Nick told you last week that fighting wasn't going to solve anything."

"Yeah," Jesse agrees slowly. He's a little confused because she was boxing, which is pretty much fighting but it's like with permission.

"That you shouldn't let your temper get the best of you," Andy continues.

Jesse nods, waits for her to spell it out.

"I know I was _supposed_ to be fighting, but it was also _supposed_ to be for fun… for you kids… it wasn't supposed to be about winning… and… "

Andy's head drops down to her chest; she's really not proud of the way she acted. "I got mad and I shouldn't have… I never wanted to hurt anyone…" She pulls her eyes up to Jesse's, wants to make sure he knows this is the important part. "But that's what happens when you act without taking time to think about it. People get hurt."

She smiles sheepishly as she kicks a little at the floor. "I don't like it when people are hurt because of me; I don't want to hurt anyone… but I did and I'm pretty sure I just disappointed a whole lot of people."

When she finally looks up again, Jesse is smiling at her. She worries that maybe he doesn't understand what she's getting at here, maybe figures she's just another adult that's feeding him the 'do as I say, not as I do' crap. And just when they were getting through to him too.

But he surprises her… completely… gets it and then some.

"Officer Andy, anybody who knows you will figure it out pretty fast. They know you didn't mean to hurt her." He shrugs his bony shoulders up high. "Sometimes it just happens. But like you told me last week – apologize and do better next time."

Andy's smile comes a whole lot easier this time. This kid is definitely one of the good ones. She slides the top of his hat down over his eyes affectionately. "How'd you get to be so smart?"

Jesse's cheeks tinge a little pink at the compliment. "Just lucky I guess."

Andy pushes a little at his shoulder. "Lucky, yeah right," she snorts, "now go on, get outta here, Smarty Pants."

With a grin and a wave, Jesse disappears into the crowd, passes right by another smiling officer.

"You did a good thing, McNally."

Andy huffs out an embarrassed chuckle. "Oh yeah, make you some money did I?"

She did, but that wasn't the point. "I mean right there, with that kid," Oliver explains, nodding at the retreating back. "You may have… lost it a little, but you owned up to it, took responsibility… that's a good thing."

Andy nods, at least she did something right tonight. It's a small consolation though. "How mad is he?" She wonders out loud.

Oliver chuckles to himself, knows exactly who she means. He really can't believe this girl sometimes. Sam's angry all right, that much they all know, but it's definitely not at her.

"Mad…might be one word for it," Oliver grins, rubbing a hand over her shoulder and nudging her in the direction of the change rooms. Yep. Sammy's 'mad' about McNally alright.

He looks at the rookie's face when he hears a loud breath exhaled, realizes by her downcast expression that she doesn't get the joke he just made. He rolls his eyes while she's not watching. Seriously, these two…they're more frustrating than trying to secure bathroom time as the only male in the Shaw household.

He wants to just come out and say it. 'Mad about you. Mad-ly in love with you. Mad with himself for not hanging in there before. Mad with Cruz for working you into this state.' But. Despite all the interference Oliver has been running of late, he knows: Those are not _his _words to say.

Still. He needs to tend to the foot he just put in his mouth, so he comes up with a compromise that he thinks might work. "I don't believe Sam is angry with _you_, McNally. But I'll let _him_ tell you that."

Andy shakes her head, eyes going wide. "It's okay, Oliver…I don't expect him to come and tell me…"

Oliver shakes his head. He's not sure where he's got all this patience from, but he's surprisingly calm. "_Let_ him," Oliver says, as a warm and soft as he can. "If he wants to talk. Let him. Isn't that what you want him to do?"

Andy bites into her lip. She flops down to the bench seat. She closes her eyes and pushes her face into her hands. Thinks of all those times she talked too much, the times Sam didn't talk at all. God. Just for the sake of not wanting Sam to see her embarrassed, how can she not want to hear what he might have to say? And also, isn't it a good thing if he wants to give her the opportunity to explain? –

She chastises herself. Time and space is not just about…giving something or someone time and space. It's about knowing _when_ to press and _when_ to keep your distance. Not just waiting for that opening, but being ready to take it when it comes. And maybe, just maybe, knowing when to open yourself up too.

It wasn't only Sam Swarek who was a bona fide savant at shutting people out.

She nods. "I pushed him away out there…when he tried to reach out to me before." A hollow pit forms in the bottom of her stomach, a series of flashbacks to times she's told him she didn't want to talk.

"Tell her I'm coming in soon, whether she wants to see me or not." Oliver repeats Sam's words slowly. "That was his message." He sits down beside her, bumps a friendly shoulder her way. "Doesn't sound to me like he's gonna give in tonight. Sounds to me like he wants to talk, wants to listen. There's the bell; it's time for you both to step up."

Andy shoulder bumps a reply. She could hug Oliver right now. "I'm sweaty," she says without thinking – meaning for it to be an explanation as to why she hasn't got her arms around the man sitting beside her.

"Not that I wanna think about it too hard," Oliver deadpans, standing up and making his way to the door. "But as you know, McNally, I'm a bettin' man. And smart money says that he's ready to throw his hat back in the ring, and all you have to do is accept the challenge. What do you say, McNally? You want a shot at the _title_?"

Andy's blush practically screams it's way from her neck to her cheeks. She can do nothing about it except hide her face again and laugh. She peeks out from behind her fingers; wants to ensure Oliver gets the credit he deserves for making her feel a little better right now. "Oliver…"

The TO turns on his heel, a grin on his face. "Yup."

"Thanks…for everything."

He winks back at her. "No thanks required, champ." (Seeing his friend happy will be thanks enough.)

He grins a little, there's clearly something else on the tip of his tongue. "Given how things went out there tonight…I'm more than happy to be on _your_ side."

Andy snorts, and throws her towel in his direction. Still she can't help the giggle that escapes from her mouth –

* * *

Sam is determined to reach McNally before anyone else does. _Time and space_, sure. But as far as he's concerned: now is the _time_ _and_ _place_ for the two of them to clear some things up.

Unfortunately for Sam, the rest of the McNally entourage seems to have a similar idea. A whole host of bodies are making their way toward the change-rooms. And it's not that he begrudges her friends checking up on her, far from it…

It's just that Sam is feeling a whole lot like this mess is _his_ fault. And that's not his ego talking either, it's the gut feeling he had earlier: Cruz was exacting some sort of revenge tonight on McNally…_because_ of Sam.

He's about to tap Nash on the shoulder, try bargaining with her. Let him inside first and he'll do all the paperwork for a week. But just as he's about to raise his arm, Sam feels a warm hand on his shoulder –

"Let her cool her heels a little more, Swarek." There's no mistaking who the male voice belongs to, and Sam can't help but tense up. "We need to talk first."

"Tommy," Sam acknowledges, turning on his heel and mustering the bravest smile that he can. "You been in there yet?" He looks over his shoulder, can't see Oliver anywhere, so assumes his good buddy is yet to come out.

Tommy shakes his head, licks at his lips and tips his jaw in the direction of the Rookies. "Traffic's holding me up as well."

Sam nods, huffs out a breath. He realizes now that he could be waiting outside this door for the rest of the night. Whilst he may have played a part in what happened out there tonight, it's not his place… (yet).

Of course she won't want him in there right now.

And if her feeling better means that her current support channels go in before him, so be it. It's only fair that Tommy and Nash…and (as reluctant as Sam is to say it) Collins, are the first ones in line.

"You look like you got some things on your mind, Swarek," Tommy says after a long pause. Both men have their hands in their pockets, like if they're not there they might be needing to be someplace (on something or someone) else.

Sam nods again, swallows. "It was my fault…I…" He doesn't even know where to start with this, doesn't know how much Tommy already knows. He doesn't get to attempt an explanation though, because McNally senior already has a speech prepared by the sounds.

"If it's one thing I've figured out this past few years, Swarek: it's that 'blame' is futile –" As Tommy makes the declaration, Sam spots Oliver walking away from the change rooms, no doubt having just crossed paths with Nash and the crew. He gestures a thumbs up to Sam and then five fingers, an indication that Sam should probably stay where he is. As Shaw walks in the direction of the men's room, Tommy continues;

"The penny finally dropped for me that _self_-blame is no different to blaming somebody else. We all have a part to play in what happens, sure. Mistakes are made, bad things happen. But what happens then?"

Sam blinks a few times. What does happen then? Last time he made a big mistake, he lost Andy…He blamed both of them for that happening. And then what? She was gone. And now she's back…and he said it himself: _done keeping count_. If he wants to move forward, if he wants the situation to change…

He not only needs to forget blaming her, or Marlo, or anyone else. He needs to stop blaming _himself_. "Is that what you did?" he asks Tommy quietly, hoping for the retired cop's sake that he's still alcohol free.

Tommy nods, holding Sam's gaze. "It's something I have to keep tellin' myself every day: Acknowledge the mistakes, but don't settle on_ blame._" He clears his throat. "It's what you do _next _that counts. What do they say? Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. If you know the mistake, and you know that you want the outcome to be _different_…you're already…you're just about there. Make amends, make changes, and move forward." Tommy looks around some more at the people passing by. "Alcohol was my way of coping with the blame I put on myself for a lot of mistakes I made. In order to stop coping that way…I had to face up to what I did and let go of the guilt. The past can't hurt you unless you let it."

Sam nods, a whole new level of respect for this man that once appeared so…broken. If McNally could work on himself, dig his way out of the dark…well, there was something to be learned from that in itself. And the fact that he revealed something so personal to Sam…

"I understand, Tommy," Sam nods again. "And I want you to know…I still…Andy means the world to me…I'm gonna do everything I can…"

"I know, Sammy," Tommy says, taking one hand out of his pocket to pat Sam's shoulder. He grins and winks, lightening the moment. "And if you don't, I'll be knocking on your door with some guys that I know."

* * *

A long, high-pitched "Ew," filters through the change room as Andy's towel drops to the ground. Andy recognizes the voice immediately, doesn't even have to look up. Gail is standing in the doorway, obstructing Nick's view as best as she can.

"It's okay…I'm decent." Andy rolls her eyes; would have been pretty hard for them to miss Oliver on his way out. She holds her hand up to gesture the next of her visitors in.

Gail steps across the threshold, and then takes the long way around the sweaty towel on the ground. Traci and Nick are hot on her heels, looking concerned as they join Andy over at the bench.

She doesn't look up at them though. She's got her elbows resting on her knees as she studies her hands. After a few seconds she shakes her head and mutters, "I can't believe I did that."

"I know," Gail practically squeals, decidedly more excited than Andy.

"Gail," Nick chastises knowing this is the last thing Andy wanted to happen. She hates people knowing her business at the best of times, and now there it was – out there for everyone to see… and judge.

"What?" The blonde snaps back, finally settling herself against the wall behind Andy. "She kicked her ass; wasn't that the whole point… to win." _She_ definitely came out ahead anyway.

"Win, yeah," Nick agrees, "but I'm guessing the KO was probably not part of the original plan."

"So," Gail defends, narrowing her eyes and pursing her bright red lips. "She did what she had to do. That b… girl was fighting dirty. She was pushing it the whole damn round… what there was of it anyway," she adds with a smirk. "She was asking for it as far as I'm concerned."

Traci has to fight herself not to nod along. Her motherly 'use your words' instincts are being pushed aside as she finds herself agreeing with Gail. Cruz was definitely dishing out some low blows… that had nothing to do with the location of Andy's belt. If anyone knows what that looks like, it's Traci; if she had to venture a guess, she'd say Cruz was using _her_ words to hit Andy right where she knew it would hurt… in the heart.

Traci pushes against Andy's knee lightly. "She call you a slut?" She teases, flashing her friend a quick grin, hoping to lighten up her mood a little.

Andy takes a quick peek up and attempts a smile but when she can't quite muster it, Traci knows she's right, that whatever it was Cruz said cut much deeper than superficial name calling.

Nick hunches down a little, lowers his head to the side trying to catch Andy's eye again. "You scared about what… _people_ might think?"

Before Andy has a chance to confirm what he already knows, Gail is on him again. "If you're talking about the brass, they could care less. I don't even think they were watching; they were too busy kissing each other's asses." She pulls a knee up to press her foot against the wall as she continues. "And don't worry about Frank," she huffs out a loud chuckle, "if Noelle's reaction was any indication, it's that man's lucky night, and I'm not talking about all the money she's pulling in right now."

Andy blinks her eyes a few times, can't quite wrap her head around it. _Noelle actually __**did**__ put money on her._

"And I know you can't be talking about Swarek," Gail's drawl continues. "That man was barely holding back. It took everything he had not to drop her on her ass and just go after you." Before, during and after the fight she wants to add.

Andy's eyes flash wide_. She knows Sam stayed in her corner, can remember him and Oliver telling her to keep on her toes. And he really didn't look mad at her, asked if she was okay even. And from what Oliver said too…_ She shakes her head. _He had to be disappointed in her though… didn't he?_

The sound of voices approaching the locker room breaks her out of her reverie. Her whole body stiffens when she recognizes both distinctly… and they sound like they're… together? And… laughing?

Her head snaps up when she hears them getting closer.

Traci and Nick push to their feet and they each give Andy an encouraging smile, know that it's not half as bad as she thinks it might be.

* * *

Tommy and Sam are still chuckling and shaking their heads when they appear in the doorway. They stop short when they feel all eyes in the room glued to them.

"Hey Sweetheart," Tommy greets, ignoring the slightly uncomfortable silence and disbelieving stares. He walks straight over to Andy and rubs a hand along her shoulders. "You doing okay?"

Her eyes flit between Sam and her father trying to figure out just how Sam could have gotten back in his good graces so quickly. She didn't even have to vouch for him.

"We're just going to…" Traci waves her hand awkwardly toward the door and nudges at Nick to start walking. When she doesn't hear any footsteps behind her, she turns back. "Gail!" She calls out curtly.

"Yeah, yeah," Gail grumbles, shoves herself up and away from the wall. "Everybody try to play nice." The blonde picks up one of the gloves that is sitting on the bench, waves it between Sam and Andy with a wry smirk. "Remember, no glove… no love."

The remark is met with a collective groan across the room, and some high eyebrows from Tommy McNally.

"What?" Gail snipes unphased by the response. "It had to be said."

* * *

As the rookies file out past Sam, Traci stops for a quick second, places a soft hand on his arm and whispers a little near his ear. "She just needs to know that she hasn't screwed this up… whatever it is."

She's already said her piece and gone but Sam still nods, takes a silent vow to make sure Andy knows just how impossible that is… ever will be. Friendship or… she won't get rid of him… she just won't.

"You okay, Sweetheart?" He hears Tommy ask again.

"I'm fine, Dad," she breathes out.

But Tommy isn't buying it; knows just as well as Sam that's McNally speak for anything but fine. "Guess Fite Nite's just not our finest hour, huh?" He tries.

Andy huffs out a soft chuckle. "Guess not," she agrees tries to match his smile.

"Good thing it doesn't matter what other people think," he reminds her.

Her eyes flash over to Sam but only for a second. Tommy catches it though, takes his own peek over at the gentleman by the door whose eyes remain glued to his daughter. "The important people already know how great you are," he adds knowingly.

When he doesn't get a response, he clears his throat loudly, chuckles a little when Sam's eyes jump over to him. He looks over at Sam pointedly. "And what's done is done so…"

The two men exchange a nod of understanding, Sam's full of more than a little gratitude too.

"I should get going," Tommy announces. "Sammy… you'll make sure she's taken care of?"

Sam smiles. He can't help but replay the knockout…and various other McNally moments through his brain. "Not that she can't look after herself…but, yeah. Yeah, Tommy. I got her back."

Andy's ears perk up at that particular statement… _Got her back._ She runs the wording on a loop in her head. They've both thrown it about often enough in their professional partnership, but the way Sam looked at her as he said it. The tone in his voice…

Calm and serious. Gentle. Determined…

And maybe underneath all of that…a little nervous himself.

Andy breaks her gaze from Sam's long enough to watch her father head to the door. "See you later, Dad," she manages before he's all the way out.

Tommy's departure leaves a quiet in the room that Sam's not entirely sure he was prepared for. As he shoves his hands in the pockets of his jacket, he briefly considers filling it with something…anything. Racks his brain for a corny joke that she might not have been privy to yet.

He comes up blank though, his head spinning just like that time she held a grenade.

It's the look on her face that's got him in a bit of a mess…

Those wide eyes of hers searching what feels like might be his soul. Her cheeks are a little flushed; her mouth is part the way open. Deer in headlights all over again.

It feels like an eternity ago that he was in here wishing her good luck. Which is a pity, because he thought that went really well. He tries to remember everything about those few minutes, wonders if there's any way possible they can pick up where they left off –

"_That_ was the best countering I've ever seen."

He says it from near the doorway, quiet, still, making sure he doesn't sound out of breath. He says it with a small smile too, just enough for her to know he's not angry, annoyed, frustrated, or anything else that she might think he is.

Andy feels every little bit of tension in every part of her fall away. Just like that. Her whole body exhales. With the release of air, a quiet, soft laugh escapes her lips.

She notices the way his smile grows when hers does.

She shakes her head; it can't be this easy…

Eight months ago he broke her heart, six months ago she broke his, and so on and so forth…and yet…

Here they are. Smiling _because_ of one another…again.

"I lost it out there," she whispers to him, her smile fading.

He makes his way over to her slowly, swings a leg over pommel horse style and sits facing her…about a metre away. "Well. It was me who told you to do whatever you needed to protect yourself. And Cruz looked like she was trying to hurt you pretty bad, so…"

"Still," Andy interjects, shaking her head some more. "I went about it the wrong way…I didn't mean for her to be hurt…"

"She's fine, McNally," Sam interrupts, urging her to look into his eyes. "Went and checked for myself."

Andy's stomach does a weird thing and her cheeks start to burn. "Of course…" she bites into her lip. She doesn't even know for sure that Sam broke things off, and irrespective, of course he cares about the woman…even if they're not still together. "I'll apologize to her again…and…and I am…I'm sorry, Sam…"

He holds out his hand, puts it on top of the one she has resting on the bench. "Pretty sure I heard you give her a bunch of _sorry's_ already, McNally…and my guess is that she owes _you_ at least one or ten." He clears his throat; another key to this conversation still needs to be found. "Do you want to tell me what she said to you?"

* * *

That burn in Andy's cheeks starts to intensify but it's nothing like the warmth she feels from Sam's hand; it's uncomfortable and unwelcome. "Not really." She shakes her head. "Doesn't matter. I still shouldn't have…"

Sam squeezes at her hand this time, bends his head a little, anything to try and get that eye contact back. Make her see that it does matter, that she matters… to him. "I want to know," he assures her and he does, enough to almost beg. "Talk to me," he implores.

She can hear it in his voice the concern, the caring and… it's something she's missed, a lot that 'I don't want anything to happen to you'. But… he said it himself, 'do what you have to do to protect yourself' and she's just not sure how much she can give away and still keep herself from getting hurt again.

She thinks he and Cruz may have parted ways but he hasn't really said. And even if they have, that doesn't mean that he wants anything from her besides friendship. If she tells him how she feels and he… well she just doesn't want him to pull away… not now that she's finally got him back…. however she has him.

But if she doesn't tell him… how can they have anything, even friendship, if they can't trust each other. God, she told herself she was going to be happy with that, that it was _enough_. Has no idea how she can tell him what he wants to know without making it seem like… she wants more… especially when she can't even convince herself.

But if this is ever going to move forward, go anywhere, and God she really wants it to, they have to at least start to let each other back in. She can see the opening; it's right there. He gave it to her plain and simple: 'talk to me'. Ready or not it's there, now she just has to decide if she's ready to open herself up too.

And really isn't this where they went wrong before – keeping the important stuff hidden. If she wants a chance at anything, she has to step up and maybe like Oliver said, he will too.

Sam's been watching her the whole time, hasn't taken his eyes off of her, knows she's over thinking it, wants to stop it before she talks herself out of… anything… everything. "Come on, Andy, tell me what's going on in there… please."

Andy can feel herself suck in a loud breath the second he says her name. As much as she loves to hear him drawl McNally, having him call her by her first name is just… it's like she's… more.

Her mouth opens and closes a few times until she decides to play it safe, find out what he _does_ know. "Wha…" She has to clear her throat when her first attempt comes out a little scratchy. "What did she tell you?"

"Nothing."

She can feel him shake his head along with the word but she doesn't look up. Instead she nods at the bench, eyes focused on the hand that's still covering hers. He hasn't let go.

Andy's not sure if she's surprised at that or not. Cruz definitely could have spun the story a little, made Andy look bad instead of herself. "Nothing at all?" She clarifies.

Sam inches forward a little, bringing them closer together. "She said I should get the story from you." He shifts Andy's hand over into his lap and starts to rub small circles on the back of it. "I _want_ to hear it from you."

Andy tugs a little at her hand, but Sam holds on tight. He's not letting her pull away, not now… not any time soon.

"I don't want you to think… I'm not trying to…" She huffs out a loud breath, really hates that she can't figure out how to say what she needs to, and she really doesn't want to screw this up by saying the wrong thing.

She closes her eyes for a couple of seconds before she forces them up to Sam, needs to make sure he can see how much she means this, how much she's okay with whatever he wants to give her. "I want to tell you, I do, but I don't want you to think I have a hidden agenda okay. I'm not trying to get in the middle of… your relationship; I'm not trying to stir up trouble," she's starting to ramble but she can't stop herself; she needs him to understand. "That's not what this is about. I just… don't let this come between us okay. These last couple of days… I just don't want to go back to when we weren't talking. I can't take that."

Sam can't take it either, really can't imagine anything she could say that would make him even want that. He holds her eye, wills her to get how serious he is about this too. "Andy, that's _not_ going to happen."

She nods, tries to muster up a reassuring smile before she soldiers on. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, sure," he urges, elated that she might want to work through this _with _him.

"No matter what I say, we're friends right? That doesn't change."

Sam's jaw twitches a little at the f word but he does his best to match her attempt at an encouraging smile. It's not really what he wants here, but if that's what she'll give him, that's what he'll take. "Nothing you say could change the way I feel about you Andy."

She searches his eyes, thinks maybe… yeah, it might be worth it, taking that chance. "When I left…"

Sam's eyes narrow in confusion, can't understand what this has to do with what Cruz might have told her. He doesn't ask though; doesn't want to stop any momentum she's got going.

"It was _never_ because I didn't love you," she reveals, her voice pleading with him to believe her.

Sam swallows at the hard lump that just appeared in his throat; it doesn't matter how many times she says the word, it still…

"I wish I would have done so many things differently," she bemoans, her gaze dropping back down to their hands as she shakes her head. "At the very least, I wish I would have told you I was going." She turns her hand around in his and holds on tight as she meets his eye again. "But it wasn't a joke to me Sam, it wasn't a game. I… I left because… I don't know, maybe I wasn't quite ready, at least not then. But I wanted to be so bad… but if you left again… decided that you really couldn't do it…" She swallows hard. "It was never because I didn't love you… I just need you to know…"

Sam brings his other hand over to encircle hers. "I believe you, Andy."

She smiles softly at him. "Thank you. And I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused."

Sam furrows his brow. "What trouble?"

She huffs out a disbelieving chuckle. "All of it – Brennan, the bomb, my first shift back… everything. I just… I know it wasn't easy for you. I never meant for you to get hurt."

Sam didn't get it. Sure, Brennan might have beat him up a little but that was mostly Boyd's doing and it was nothing compared to the pain he was in when he thought he might have hurt Andy too… but the others… he's fine. "Andy, please just tell me what was said. You're talking in circles here and…"

It's now or never. And never, when it comes to Sam, is something she can't even fathom. Andy pulls in a deep breath and then blows it out slowly. "She said that I couldn't have loved you because I was able to walk away…."

And that… that is not what Sam is expecting. He's not even sure what he thought she might have said but knows that wasn't it. He feels his body tense up, is pretty sure Andy feels it too the way she sucks in a loud breath and tugs at her hand again. But he's not letting her go. Because it's not what she's thinking… she has to know… he told her before… but he'll say it again and again until she believes him. "Andy…"

She starts talking before he has a chance to continue; the breaks in her voice tell him that maybe she's scared of what he might have been about to say. "That's _why_ I walked away, Sam. I love you _too much_ and it just hurt when I thought…" She's shaking her head hard now. "But I would never… not on purpose… Sam if anything happens to you because of me…"

Anything she says after 'I love you too much' gets lost. Nothing registers except for the fact that she used the present tense – love not loved. She may not have even realized she did it, but he did. He sits there; opens his mouth a couple of times but nothing will come out.

When he doesn't say anything after a couple of seconds, Andy shifts around on the bench so she can reach him with her free hand, rub at his arm a little.

"Sam… Sam." She has to say it twice before it even registers, which scares her a little now. He may not talk a lot, but he's just a little too still for her liking. "I promise Sam; I would never," she tries again.

"Never what?" As soon as he's said it, the rest of her monologue finally reaches his brain. The next words are spoken through gritted teeth. "Andy, what else did she say?"

Her chin drops to her chest; she's come this far though so there's no reason to hold back now. "That you're better off without me because I'm going to get you killed," she breathes out.

The muscle in Sam's jaw starts jumping again; he flashes his teeth once and gone. Can't believe the nerve of Cruz, has to stop himself from jumping up right then and there and going after her. Only then he can't actually move; no way is he moving a muscle while McNally's hand is seemingly fused into his. He does some tongue chewing though, tries to remember that breathing might come in useful too.

Andy's studying him pretty closely now, trying to get a read on his emotions. She can see the muscle in his jaw twitching and his leg is bouncing up and down like…

_like he wants to get out of there. _

"It's no wonder you can't be a cop and be with me."

"Huh?" the confusion is written all over Sam's face. His leg has stopped bouncing about and his jaw has dropped open. He looks at her with a squint.

Andy frowns. How can he_ not _remember what he said back then? "That's what you said…when…before…you told me you couldn't be a cop and be with me…"

Sam blows out a breath, finally getting her point. He leans back a little, not really meaning to, but it's like the wind has been knocked from his sails. The movement almost drags McNally headlong into his chest.

He lets go of her hands in the nick of time, enough space between them for her to catch herself from falling, hands on his knees. Sam puts his own hands over his face, scrubbing hard all the way up and down as he tries to iron the wrinkles of stress all the way out.

"Andy…" He shakes his head. How can he even begin to form the right words? He drops his head down, lets the muscles of his neck stretch as he pulls his shoulders back. He looks up finally, shaking his head again. He bites his lip. There is absolutely no way around this _except_ to lay everything out –

"Okay…first of all…you know how much of a mess I was back then, right?"

Andy drops her eyes for a second and he can tell already, that wasn't the right way to start. She's blaming herself for his dysfunctional state. Of course she is, he pretty much told her it was her fault…

He lets out a humourless laugh. As she goes to slide her hands off his knees he drops his palms down, stops her in her tracks. "Yes, okay. I was a mess because of you," he blurts. And then rolls his eyes because he is awful at this…

Still. It gets her head popping back up, gets her eyes focused on his. Now the confusion is hers.

He laughs some more, looks up to the ceiling for help. "I _am_ a mess because of you."

Andy opens her mouth, but she's speechless. She feels pretty destroyed. She gets that things are complicated between them, but this is too much. The thought of making Sam's life so…so…hard…is too much for her. She doesn't understand how he can be smiling about it though…

Not just smiling. Laughing. God. There are practically tears in his eyes...

Eventually Sam manages to regain his composure. Kind of. This…everything right now is amplified. It's like she's holding up a magnifying glass between them, and everything is a little distorted. But not. Every single feeling that he's felt this past couple of weeks…everything before that…it all makes sense.

"Andy," he says, voice back to quiet and hands gripping hers. "I love you."

He breathes out slowly, looks into her eyes. "What I felt for you…what I _feel _for you…it's not something I'm used to trying to deal with, okay?" He really, really wishes he had some water right now. His throat feels like a desert. Still. She's definitely not looking like she's going to run for the hills anymore. He thinks that maybe he's starting to help her make sense out of the mess too. So, he continues, taking his time –

"Whether I'm _with_ you, or not, I want to protect you and care for you and make you happy…" He pauses, looks up to the ceiling again, hopes Jerry might fill his brain with more words, better words. "Being your partner on…and off the job…I don't think I was really ready for it…" He looks across at her again, shuffles in another inch. "I couldn't make sense of _how_ to be everything I wanted to be to you. And. I gotta admit; I still have no idea."

"You still love me?" Andy whispers, every part of herself internally spinning every which way. She's putting two and two together though, her heart surging as she realizes that what Sam is trying to explain is the intensity…the depth of his feelings for her. "Does that mean you _don't_ love Marlo?"

Sam's eyes go wide; his eyebrows climb all the way up. He releases another long breath. "Andy…Cruz became a good friend to me…she was…nice…easy company… we have things in common…I told you all that…"

"Yeah, and you were prepared to dive into a relationship with her," Andy interjects, memories of the scenes when she first got back adding some fuel to her emotions.

"Dive in…" Sam looks a little confused again. He blows out some more breath because his chest had started to constrict. "I didn't exactly intend for it to be something serious, Andy…I just…I was just trying to move on."

_The best way to get over somebody…_

Andy curses Traci silently, shakes her head to stop herself from conjuring up any unwanted images–

"Andy," Sam's voice cuts into her thoughts. "In answer to your questions: yes, I still love you. No, my feelings for Cruz were…are…_nothing_ like that."

He knows he can't just leave it at that, but also knows that this isn't a quick fix. In the end, he settles for telling her at least some of the facts. "I tried, Andy. I tried to move on. Tried to keep myself busy, and tell myself that you…" He gestures between them. "That we were over, that I could make myself stop loving you." He lifts her hands and squeezes them gently. "But. Truth is, I couldn't. I don't think I ever can. I will always…love you. Even if we're not together. Even if you don't feel the same."

Andy searches Sam's eyes, sees it all there. Everything. The pain and frustration and confusion…as well as the love. In a way, she wants him to keep talking all night, keep up with the confessions so she can shoot hers right back. But she knows it's not that easy, knows it's going to take more time. Time for them to keep asking and answering questions…of one another. And of themselves.

"So, you're not together anymore…you and Cruz?" Andy asks suddenly, because, well, some things are important to know if any further talking is to be done.

Sam shakes his head, replies immediately. "I…wasn't being very fair to her either…I realized she wanted more than I was prepared to give. Broke things off with her last night..."

"God," Andy rolls her eyes, throwing her head back a little. When she looks at Sam again, she gives him a mischievous wink. "So this was some kind of revenge?"

Sam drops his head, another mirthless laugh falling out. "I'm sorry…shoulda been me in that ring. Let you both go a round."

Andy rubs her hand up his arm, soft smile in place. "Hey…I'm joking, Sam. You know that, right? I think we've probably all done enough beating up of ourselves?"

Sam raises his eyes to meet Andy's again. He nods and gives her a small smile. "Yeah…you're dad said something to that effect too."

"My dad..._that_ what you two were talking about out there...us beating ourselves up?" She can't but help but be a little curious as to what, and how much might've been said between the two most important men in her life.

Sam nods. Everything in the room goes very, very quiet. He'd repeat the discussion with Andy's father verbatim if he could remember it all. He doesn't think it's necessary though. He's pretty sure Andy has seen her father go through some personal growth...especially this past couple of years. He settles on reiterating what seems to be Tommy's mantra, echoes it softly, looking right into her eyes; "Make amends, make changes, and move forward."

Andy's eyes flicker over Sam's face as he repeats something she's heard her dad say fairly often in recent times. At first, when he used to say it, she thought it was lip service. But even though he's made his fair share of mistakes, even since going to his meetings, he has tried...kept trying...to make changes...and keep growing, keep moving forward.

From the first time she heard it, Andy 'knew' what he meant. At least, she thought she did. But she's sensing that she didn't really understand it...not until now. Tonight: the penny has finally dropped. Here, sitting across from her is the man that she loves with every part of her being, confessing that he was...is...a 'mess' because of her...and that he doesn't know what to do about that. He is acknowledging mistakes, and making amends; baring his most vulnerable parts. As for the 'change', he's already making an effort. Before tonight, he wouldn't have expressed himself this way if at all. Andy already sees monumental change there –

But what about her? Sure, she's acknowledged she could've...should've...done some things differently. Acknowledged that she loves him, has attempted to make amends for all that crazy stuff she's put him through in the past...

But. Change?

So far tonight, she's continued to jump to conclusions, interrupt him, put words in his mouth, _defend _her position, her actions...if change is required...well, probably she needs to be open about some things she understands about herself –

"I had expectations," she whispers, voice cracking a little again. She knows this is going to be hard, but it's the least Sam deserves.

When Sam opens his mouth to respond, she shakes her head gently and squeezes his hand. "Let me..."

She clears her throat, forces some more volume and looks straight in his eyes. "I expected you to be...to _do_...everything that I _planned_ for my life. Expected that 'normal' would turn out to be something that _I_ dreamed up. I mean, I never even asked what _you_ thought normal looked like."

He smiles small back at her, rubs his thumb over her knuckle. "We both forgot to check in on that..."

Andy chuckles humourlessly, looks away for a second or two as she rolls her eyes at how things really were not given their best chance at the start. "Might've helped if we figured out how big the difference between our two 'normal's' was way back then, huh?"

She looks back in time to see Sam nodding, his own eyes cast down to the pit of space between their bodies. "Yeah," he replies with a sigh. "I recall promising we would...I'm sorry I didn't follow through..."

"Sam," Andy says softly, willing him to look up at her again. When he does, she continues. "That wasn't only _your_ job, you know? God. I have this horrible tendency to talk and not listen. Ask questions, not wait for the answers...give the answers myself. I made up answers on your behalf. You were right, I _am_ allergic to silence. I can't bear the thought of listening to the answers that _silence_ might give..."

"Yeah, well. Mighta helped if that's not all you were listening to..."

"Now, who's allergic?" she teases. "You gonna let me finish this big spiel of mine?"

He grins at her, tilts his head to the right. After a long pause of nothing much else, he nods.

"You make _me_ a mess too, Sam." She smiles broadly. "Huge mess, in fact." Her features turn more serious as she thinks of her head and her heart and how nothing works the same way it used to...before him. "And I don't know how to put any of these pieces together either..."

She stops for a second, remembers her moment of enlightenment less than 24 hours ago. "But...even though I have _no_ idea what the puzzle is...I know I want to figure it out." She takes a couple of breaths, smiles small again, squeezes his hand hoping any residual strength he might have will pass on to her. "I came into today knowing that I never wanted to lose you. If that meant being your 'friend'...and only that...I decided...that's what I would be. I would be the best friend...and the very best colleague I could be. I made the decision...whatever had to happen for you to be in my life...I would make it happen..."

Sam's grin has grown exponentially as Andy has been talking. He's laughing a little as well. Her eyebrow quirks as she watches him shake his head. "What? You still don't believe a girl can just be your _friend_, Swarek?"

"Oh, I believe it..." Sam says, chewing into his lip. "I mean. It was gonna be a battle to the death between me, Nash and Shaw as to who was gonna be your _best_ friend the minute you bought us all lunch." The teasing is gentle by Swarek standards, the expression on his face is cautious. But the humour brings a nice wave of lighter air into the mix.

Andy giggles brightly. She never wants Sam to _not_ tease her. After all, she wants to be able to tease him too. But she understands why his tone is a little subdued… obviously he knows himself that sometimes his jokes have been a little misplaced. She squeezes his hand reassuringly, winks over at him. "Well. You'll get the friendship bracelet…I've even got the beads all picked out."

Sam chokes out a laugh in reply. Winks back at her. "Long as you don't expect me to wear it while we're at work." He strokes his thumb over her knuckles again; smile fading until it's much smaller than before. "Actually," he continues quietly. "I'd kind of made a similar resolution myself…to be a good friend and colleague, I mean."

Andy smiles softly. There's this warmth that's spreading all through her - inside and out. That is until the words _'good friend and colleague'_ start playing on loop through her brain. Her smile starts to fade a little as she considers the possibility that_ 'good friend and colleague' _is the _only_ plan the universe has made.

No. The universe is not going to tell her what she can and can't have. She wants more than the friendship bracelet...thinks that Sam might want that too...but she has to know for sure.

She drops her eyes down to their hands; watches Sam trace the peaks and valleys on the back of hers before she ventures a look up. "So...is that what we are then..." she stutters out, "friends?"

* * *

_Up next: Facing the truth...and the crowd!_


	7. Let Your Guard Down

_A/N: Huge thanks again for continuing to follow the story and leave your thoughts. You guys deserve some kind of championship title yourselves! _

**Co-written **with** dcj**

**Disclaimer: We don't own Rookie Blue**

* * *

**_'Let your guard down'_**

_I'm scared every time I go into the ring, but it's how you handle it. What you have to do is plant your feet, bite down on your mouthpiece and say, 'Let's go.' Mike Tyson_

* * *

Nick, Gail and Traci are clustered in the main gym area waiting - for what, they aren't exactly sure. Traci and Nick are taking it in turns looking back towards the change room nervously while Gail busies herself with a little Temple Run on her phone, curse words slipping periodically from under her breath.

The final fight of the night is just finishing up, when Dov and Chris emerge from the crowd grinning and shoving at each other. "There you guys are," Dov greets them.

"You guys just disappeared, we thought you left," Chris adds with one last shot to Dov's shoulder.

"We went to check on Andy," Traci explains, taking another furtive peek back at the locker room hallway.

Dov's practically bouncing on his feet. "Is she excited about the win? Is she showering? We should get over to the Penny to make sure we get a seat."

Gail finally drags her eyes away from her phone. "If she's showering in there, she won't be coming out anytime soon," she drawls.

"Gail!" Nick and Traci echo in reprimand.

"What? She might want some help scrubbing her back," she answers innocently. "He's not going to turn her down, not after that display."

Chris' head is flipping from one face to the other, but he really has no idea who or what they are talking about. "Who's not going to turn her down?"

"Swarek's in there with her," Traci explains like it should be obvious.

Dov's eyes grow to about the size of saucers. "In the shower?!" He screams, his voice a weird combination of both disbelief and awe.

Gail is practically cackling, totally ignores the glare Traci sends her way. "No, not _in_ the shower," Traci clarifies. "They're in the change room… _talking_."

"They _could_ be in the shower," Gail practically sing-songs. "We've been out here for a while and her dad left what, five, ten minutes ago."

Nick's eyebrows creep up; apparently she has been paying attention.

"I'm just saying," Gail continues, "it has been a while and the man clearly wants her back. What says making up better than shower sex?" She looks over at Nick and blinks a few times as the syrupy sweet words drip from her mouth. "Right, honey?"

Nick just shakes his head while Traci laughs deep and loud. Dov shoots a grin over to Chris but he's looking the other way… anywhere but at Gail and Nick.

"What's so funny?" Oliver quips as he sidles up beside Traci.

"You do _not_ want to know," she answers breathlessly. "Trust me."

"Fine," he huffs. "But don't expect me to let you make it up to me later."

Traci's jaw drops open for a few seconds before she belts out another full out belly laugh. "I wouldn't dream of it," she manages to squeak when she finally catches her breath.

Oliver frowns over at her and all the rest of them as they try to recover from their bout of the giggles; he really hates being on the outside of an inside joke. "Where's McNally?" He growls. "She owes me a drink."

Traci can't help but grin. Everyone else is there waiting to buy her a drink of congratulations, and he... She shakes her head at the senior officer, _only Oliver._ "She isn't out yet. We were just trying to decide if we should head over to the Penny or wait a little longer."

Oliver's eyes narrow as he studies the looks on each of their faces. _Why wouldn't they just go in and ask her? _ He wonders… until the light bulb goes on inside his head. "Is Sammy in there with her?"

"Yeah," Nick confirms, "they've been in there about…" He looks down at his watch, "ten minutes now."

Before Oliver can decide what he thinks the best course of action is, Noelle sweeps in with a huge grin on her face. "Let's go; we only have the babysitter for another hour and I've got some winnings to spend."

She looks around at the rest of the group, takes inventory. "Where's McNally? It doesn't take that long to shower."

Dov starts to open his mouth but the elbow he receives in his stomach from Traci stops any words from coming out.

"I think we're just going to head over there," Traci suggests, "I'm sure she'll be over in a bit." She didn't even sound convincing to herself though.

"No way," Noelle insists. "I owe that woman a drink and time is money. I'll go check on her and you guys go get a table."

She's on a mission and half a dozen steps away when Oliver lets her in on the quandary. "Sammy's in there."

Noelle stops dead in her tracks and spins around on her heel. "Damn it!"

Oliver plasters on an indulgent smile; clearly they would have already checked on her if…"Our sentiments exactly," he agrees, waving his hands haphazardly at the waiting entourage.

"Well, someone has to go in there," Noelle gripes, "it's hardly a celebration if the winning boxer isn't even there." Her last few words fade off when Oliver's waves start to become more purposeful until they finally land on his head in a makeshift ruffle of his hair… or head.

She takes a quick check of the group and every eye is a little wider and focused on something or someone over her right shoulder. She twists her body to the side a little to get a better look, comes face to face with a freshly showered and coiffed Cruz and a couple of guys she vaguely recognizes from some function or other Frank might have dragged her too.

"Hey, Cruz," she greets calmly, "tough bout huh? You doing okay?" Her voice is the picture of composed. Drama comes and goes but they all work together, that's not going to change. So she has no intention of making this harder on the woman than it has to be.

Marlo smiles warmly at Noelle, focusing on _her_ face, the one she knows is friendly. This is something she was hoping to avoid… at least for tonight anyway. She took her time in changing for that very reason; she was hoping that everyone would have already left and she could pick herself up and dust herself off without any prying or critical eyes. She's not proud of her little indiscretion, really has no idea how much they might have surmised from the display, but there's no getting away from it now so she swallows down some of her pride. It's probably a good thing anyway… to get it over with… keep it from seeping over into work. The last thing she wants is for it to affect how she does her job. She's worked hard to get where she is…

She takes a deep breath tries to spread the smile around a little, extend the branch if it's needed. "McNally packs quite a punch," she concedes, "but I'll be fine. I've been through worse."

She's not sure why she adds the next bit; it's pretty obvious what she walked in on. But she can't help herself. "You all headed to the Penny?"

It's not like she's trying to fish, not really. She doesn't even want to go. But… it _would_ be nice to know just how welcome she might be, if there's still going to be a bridge there come morning.

"Yeah, I heard that the community centre did really well tonight," Noelle reports, figures she'll keep the few bucks she put in her own pocket her little secret. "Well that… and we have the babysitter for another hour," she adds with a tip of her head and some extra dimple thrown in. "Figured we should probably take the opportunity to celebrate."

Noelle casts her eye back at the rag tag bunch behind her. She adds a little extra point to the look she throws at Peck who seems to be having a real battle with holding her tongue, if the grip Army Boy has on her hand means anything.

"Will you be joining us?" She asks when she turns back to Cruz.

Marlo scans the group before she even thinks about saying anything. Needs to assess just how communal the sentiment might be.

Oliver speaks up before she has a chance to respond. He actually likes Cruz… just not for Sam. She's easy to get along with, has a pretty good sense of humour and she doesn't have an aversion to paying – an ideal companion in his books. "You could probably use a drink," he declares as his way of extending the welcome.

"Oliver," Traci admonishes stepping up beside him.

"What?" His head and his voice both snap back. "I just meant that the fight probably took a lot out of her."

Traci closes her eyes and shakes her head, huffs out a disbelieving breath before she looks up at Cruz sincerely. "What he means to say is Fifteen did good tonight. You're part of Fifteen and you should come." She ignores the mumbling she can hear from under Gail's breath as she sidesteps in front of her and smiles genuinely at Cruz.

Marlo chuckles a little, appreciates the efforts of the younger officer. She knows it must be hard for Nash being right smack dab in the middle of it all what with being Sam's partner and McNally's best friend. But she's always treated her with professional respect and she admires her for it.

Marlo takes another check of the group, besides being unable to see Peck who's being hidden from her view by Collins, it looks like everyone else is fine with the invitation.

She can feel a few of the knots release from her stomach as she smiles and assures them she'll think about it. That's the best she can do right now because as much as the rest seem okay with her coming, there is someone conspicuously absent who may not be quite as happy to see her there. And she figures maybe she might owe both him and McNally a little time and space.

"You know where we'll be," Noelle reminds her as she watches her walk off with who she now remembers as two SWAT commanders.

With Marlo on her way, Nick finally relinquishes the tight leash he had on Gail. She wastes no time in stepping up between Oliver and Traci, slinging one arm up and over each of their shoulders as she urges them forward. "Let's go you two, front and centre."

Traci and Oliver look first at each other and then at the looming hallway as Peck inches them closer to the locker room. "Why us?" Traci squeaks out.

"Yeah, it was Noelle's idea," Oliver moans.

Gail gets up on her tip toes, squeezes her head between the two of them and pats them each on the chest with one of her hands. "You're the best friends. If anyone's seen them naked before, it's you two."

Traci rubs a soft hand on Oliver's back as he starts to choke on Peck's words.

"Besides," she adds with a giggle, "Nick's not allowed, Chris would be too embarrassed and Dov…" she takes a quick check over her shoulder, drops her voice down a little, "yeah, I'm not sure he'd want us to know which one he's most _excited_ to see _au naturel_. So suck it up, coppers," she orders with a little more volume. "We're goin' in."

"Fine," Oliver moans, "but if I'm scarred by this…"

"Yeah, yeah," Gail drawls, "we can go to group therapy together."

* * *

Sam can feel the smile slipping further from his face as he checks out the state of the lockers, the paint on the wall… _ 'Friends?'_ He did say that's what he had resolved but… if Sam is being completely honest with himself, he's wanted _more_ for as long as he's known her...he just hasn't believed in himself, hasn't known what to do – or at least how to do it well. 'More' has terrified him...but what is more terrifying than having 'more' with her? _Not_ having 'more'. He has no idea what the hell he's going to do if that's all that she wants to be -

* * *

Andy is studying his every movement – each breath, that hint of a grin she sees every night in her sleep. But then his face shifts at the word friend and he looks away… and she's more than certain that she's reading the signs right. "I want more than the bracelet," she blurts out trying to get his attention again.

It works. Sam looks back at her, his brow furrowed in confusion. "What?"

Andy takes a deep breath urges herself to take the leap. "I know we both said we were ready to be friends and I meant it; I did. I just… _is_ that where we are?"

Sam's pulse is racing. He's pretty sure they're on the same page but it almost sounds like she's trying to talk herself out of anything more; his words come out hard and fast and… nervous. "Is that what you want?"

He really hopes she says no. Because that is most definitely _not_ what he wants. He wants to be right in the middle of it all – fighting with her… fighting _for_ her… for _them…_ring around them both.

Andy turns her hand in his, tries to do a little soothing of her own. "Yes… and no… I mean...I want to be your friend but…" She meets his eye, swallows hard at the worry she sees there, hurries out the rest to take that fear away. "I also want more… I just… You said you weren't ready before to be my partner on and off the job."

The muscles in Sam's body contract; he can almost feel the ridges in the wall it feels like his back is against. And he knows it's probably not the right one, but his first instinct is almost always self-preservation. "And you said _you_ weren't ready to take a chance on me, that's why you left."

It's one thing to want it, and she really does, but it's a whole other thing to be really ready to do it. Andy blows out a long slow breath. "So does that mean that's all we're _ready_ for? Friendship?"

Sam takes a deep breath himself, wills his body to relax, knows that they both need to get better at this, better at talking without feeling the need to defend. "I don't know, Andy. I told you this is all new to me, but I do know that friendship… it's not _all_ that I want."

Andy smiles up at Sam, appreciates the effort she knows it took for him to admit that. "It's not all I want either…" she's certain of that but… "but how do you know that you're ready now – to be both?"

Sam shrugs. He really does not know the answer, wonders if she might have an idea. "How do you know that you're ready to trust me not to leave again?" There's no malice in his voice when he asks; he's just hoping that maybe she has more insight into her feelings than he does.

"Will you?" She wonders aloud. She doesn't believe he will but wants his take on it.

"Will _you_?" Sam looks at her intently, wills her to see that some of their fears are the _same_.

Andy frowns a little at that, but knows that one of them has to give in here… and really he just said… "I'm not going anywhere Sam."

"Neither am I," he assures her. "All I know is that not having you in my life… it's not an option anymore. I lived that way for six months, almost eight now. I don't know if I'm ready, but I know that I'm ready to _try_."

Andy gets that, she does, is it enough though? "But as a friend I'm in your life and you're in mine," she reasons. "How do we know we aren't meant to be just friends?"

Sam shakes his head. If this is going to work, they both have to be all in. "What do you want Andy? You need to decide. Maybe we're meant to be friends I don't know, but I hope that's not it. We'll never know until we try."

The memory of the last time they tried something new together overwhelms Andy and manifests itself as a full body blush. It was _so_ worth it then… she's sure it will be now too.

Sam chuckles lightly. He doesn't mean to bring up old memories, it isn't purposeful but it is… He just really likes Andy's reaction, likes that she still feels those things… so vividly. _Really_ misses being the one to make her feel them.

Andy swats at his arm. But he grabs her hand and holds it against his chest as he looks straight into her eyes. "What do you want Andy?"

She can feel his heart beating against her hand, and she knows the answer without a doubt. "I want you... I want us...as more than friends."

"Good," he agrees gently. "Then that's what we work towards."

"Okay," Andy nods softly, smiles a little, "so how do we start?" She chuckles a bit to herself as another memory hits her, wonders if this time maybe they'll be able to find the right answer.

"I don't know," Sam concedes, shaking his head. "All I know is that there's no one else I want to do this with, that I've ever wanted to do _this_ with. _No one_."

Andy huffs out a soft breath. "God, we really are a mess. How can we not know how to date? Do we even know how to be normal? And what if my normal isn't the same as yours?"

Her hand is still against his chest; he pulls it away and cradles it between both of his. "We talk, _that's_ how we start, and we don't have to figure it all out tonight. We just have to decide what we want and agree to go for it… together."

Her eyes drop down to her feet watching them scuff a little against the floor. "I'm scared," she whispers, "of being hurt again, of not being able to make you happy, you looked really happy..."

Sam pulls at her hand, waits for her to look up at him. "Trust me, Andy, I was happier when I was with you. I was only fooling myself thinking…" He shakes his head. "I want to be the one to make you happy, make you laugh. I'm scared too, scared that I won't be able to give you what you need either. What if I don't talk?"

Andy shrugs, "what if I talk too much?" She focuses on a spot on the wall over Sam's shoulder, whispers out the next little bit so quiet he almost doesn't catch it. "We really are different."

"So we'll deal with it," he urges. "There's nothing wrong with different. I happen to like different; I like that even though you like your plans, I never know what you're going to do or say. I like that you love people, that you believe in them, that you're optimistic. I see in you, things that I wish I could be… things that maybe you can help me be."

Andy smiles softly at him. "And you can help me understand time and space. Think before I just jump in." She quirks an eyebrow up at him. "Appreciate the quiet."

Sam drops his chin, huffs out a soft chuckle. "I'm not a miracle worker McNally."

Andy laughs, pushes at his chest a little with their hands. "Guess it's a good thing we'll be doing it _together_ then huh?"

"Make changes. Move forward," he pledges, making sure both their hands are still hovering somewhere in the vicinity of his heart.

"You forgot amends," Andy reminds him, "and I am sorry, Sam… for everything. For not knowing what you needed…" She drops her eyes down but only for a second because he deserves to see how much she really means what she's about to say. "…for walking away."

"I'm sorry too, Andy." He purses his lips, chuckles a little self-deprecatingly. "For not knowing what I needed either. I should have been able to tell you without…" He shakes his head. "I'm sorry for just walking away too."

"So change…?" She's hoping he gets it; that the amends are done and it's time to move forward… to start. "What do you want? Tell me one thing you need me to do so we can start this off right."

"Poker night is non-negotiable," Sam replies deadpan, grins a little when he gets the reaction he is looking for.

"Sam," she groans. She's serious here. Really wants to do whatever it takes.

"I'm serious," he retorts, seemingly reading her mind.

She didn't need to know that they hadn't had one since… well since. But he figures maybe that is another step in the right direction too. Especially now that the memories can come and they don't stop him in his tracks anymore.

"You'll have to be patient," he states, finally complying. "I may need time and space, but I promise - I won't walk away. It just might take me a while to… let things sink in, figure things out. I'm used to tucking things away and… you said it yourself, I compartmentalize. I've done it that way for a long time and it's not always easy for me to let people in. It doesn't mean that I don't want to; it just means that I may not know how. I may need some time to figure out how."

"You're not the only one, Sam. I need to get better at that too. I didn't always let you in either." Flashes of the night of her housewarming run through her head and she's not really proud of her actions.

Sam can see it on her face, the embarrassment… the regret, but that's not what they're supposed to be doing here. "No beating ourselves up remember – we're going forward."

She really does love how he always looks out for her, always worries about her feelings. "I promise to try and be patient and wait for you," she vows, "but I do need you to talk to me. I want to go through the hard stuff with you; I'll try not to pressure you but… if I forget, remind me okay?"

"Only if you remind me too," Sam grants, "and I promise I'll try not to get upset."

"We'll probably fight," she concedes.

Sam's eyebrows bounce up once quick before he offers her a playful wink. "As long as we make up."

Andy shakes her head, tries to hide the blush that is once again taking over her body. Making up sounds really good right about now.

"Couples fight, Andy," Sam gets serious again. "Oliver told me the other night that it's hard and scary, but it's worth it; we're worth it. And if we have to compromise, that's what we do. That's what love is – give and take, seeing both sides, the good and the bad… and not keeping score."

"Maybe we could ask Oliver what to do," she suggests, with a wink of her own. "I mean he is my new best friend."

Sam laughs out loud at that, like they would even have to ask for his friend's input. "That's the first rule," he insists. "Shaw does _not_ get a say in anything."

"There are rules?" Andy asks in faux disbelief, the twinkle still dancing in her eye. "You mean like 'I am not your boyfriend and I will not be holding your hand'."

Sam looks pointedly at their intertwined fingers before he smirks up at Andy. "I told you McNally. I don't have any rules."

"Oh yeah..." Her eyebrow tips up in challenge as she leans her body in closer. "So anything goes then?"

Sam opens his mouth, considers a whole host of options that might get McNally blushing some more. He's very close to answering her question with another question, but as he sticks his tongue in his cheek there's a voice at the door –

Well. A clearing of a throat or two, more like it.

When Sam turns to face that way, the sight before him induces a shake of the head. He smiles though, mainly because of the giggles it elicits from Andy when she sees what he's looking at.

Crammed in and around the doorway are several bodies…or faces at least.

Pushed through the doorway are Nash and Shaw. Like foot soldiers, they stand to attention ready for whatever mundane task that may have been delegated to them. The difference is however, they each have a pale hand firmly planted over their eyes –

It's Peck that stands slightly behind and between them, an arm over each shoulder and her hands covering their eyes. Sam cocks his head to try and catch a glimpse of the blonde's face; notices that she has her own eyes shut tight.

Behind the three stooges is a sea of faces, all with their eyes closed but each obviously desperate to see what's going on. Depstein are up on their toes, Collins has his chin on the head of Peck, and Williams' has one hand on the shoulder of Shaw.

"Guys." Nash starts up cautiously, evidently handed the task of speaking on behalf of the group. "Ah…sorry to interrupt…"

"Seriously?" Andy interjects, still giggling at the farce in front of her and Sam. "What do you think we're doing in here?"

"Shower sex!" Epstein hollers. As everyone gasps, he tries to clarify; "Well…that's what Gail said."

Andy's blush feels like it's become a permanent fixture. Partly her problem here is that Dov's words did evoke some images that have made her feel a little bit hot. She looks to Sam for some help, but he's none at all. Actually, the grin on his face is making things even worse. In fact, she has to look away from him quickly, focus her attention on something distinctly not related to…showers and Sam…

It's Noelle she focuses on; at least she can count on some maturity from the senior officer.

"We're goin' to The Penny, you two are coming, like it or not." Noelle says, no nonsense. "McNally, you're owed a few drinks."

Sam's eyebrows go up as he scans the expression of his colleagues. He's mindful of containing his smile. He could have guessed that they were all betting on McNally, but…something tells him the fight tonight was not the only thing they thought was a certainty. Sheer numbers of wagers suggest that Andy will be on the receiving end of a whole lot of rounds tonight. And he is happy for her…proud of her…wants her to have her moment in the sun…

But he can't help but be just a little disappointed…before they were interrupted, he was thinking of doing some bargaining…having her all to himself for the next 48 hours (years). Still. He reasons that some celebratory drinks with their friends are well deserved…

Andy looks at Sam, can't help but be disappointed that their talk has been interrupted. Still. They did agree not everything needed to be sorted out tonight. And it might be nice to celebrate…things…with their friends…not that Andy's getting ahead of herself. It's just…everyone has been so supportive. A drink or two with them is the least they deserve. She bites her lip. "You're coming too, right?"

Sam smiles softly. He can't help but think back to the night he asked for another chance; the night she didn't turn up. Six months later though…the timing feels right. He's pretty sure she'll let him get her that drink this time around. He makes sure she's looking right into his eyes when he gives her the answer, wills her to see that behind any residual pain of the memory…he is…happy…grateful that they've finally got to this point. "Yeah…I'll be at the Penny."

Sam's voice is almost like all those nights ago…almost. But, not quite. Replaced with the desperation is a confidence that wasn't there six months ago. The sadness and confusion of that time is obviously still something that jumps to the front of both of their minds, but now…there is also anticipation and a real sense of hope. Andy is ready for Sam to buy her that drink. And she wants to shout Sam one too. She smiles back at him, nods slowly, definitively. This time she's not backing out.

Gail has her eyes open wide now, recognizes the significance of this moment and what it means to these two. Remembers a time way back at the start when McNally wanted to buy Swarek a drink, remembers another time not so long ago when Swarek was left waiting at the bar...he and Gail side by side, but essentially drinking alone. She sucks in a quiet breath, holds back a smile. She's pretty sure that neither Swarek nor McNally will be refusing drinks from the other tonight. "So. Come on then, slow pokes. Despite popular belief, the Penny won't stay open all night."

Sam rolls his eyes, but eventually winks at Andy. And then he stands up, offers a hand to help pull her up too. He scratches at the back of his neck with his free hand, glances back over his shoulder at their audience. He's debating with himself about modes of transport to the Penny; it's only a short walk…it's just…

Well. He'd prefer the truck to be in the parking lot of the Penny. There for when they're ready to go home –

There's a silence amongst the group, everyone wondering and hazarding guesses on what might happen next. Everyone is holding their breath; one that is released en masse when Sam clears his throat;

"You want a ride to the Penny?"

Andy smiles small. She kind of assumed they'd all be walking the short distance over. Not that she really liked the idea of carting her gear bag around.

The thought of another couple of minutes alone in a bubble with Sam is appealing, a few more moments where they can talk about…

Things.

And what makes it even better… is that they'll be doing it in his truck. She loves Sam's truck, everything about it reminds her of him – strong, dependable… she chuckles a little to herself, on the exterior it looks hard, tough, but on the inside…

It's where she first told him she loved him. 'Start the truck, McNally'… yeah, she loves his truck.

"Sure…" Andy pauses, purses her lips before she grins big, "If I drive."

His eyebrows jump up a little before he scrubs a hand over his mouth, tries to hide the smirk he's got going at the collective intake of breath he hears beside him.

He reaches into his pocket, pauses. Thing is, he knows he's going to say yes… whatever it takes to get her there, get her that drink, he's going to do. And if she wants to drive… well he really doesn't hate the idea of having his keys in her hands again.

When he finally slides the set out, he twirls it around his finger a couple of times, just to tease… like he actually has to think about handing them over. But then he does, reminding her; "be gentle."

Andy's gaze trawls between his eyes and the keys. The key-ring is hooked around a single digit, the keys draped in his palm. She bites her lip as she reaches across, tucks her fingers into the mix.

He wraps his fingers around hers for a few seconds before releasing to let her pull the ring off with her thumb. Her heart is racing even faster now, the weight of the objects bringing back yet another set of memories.

When she looks back up into his eyes, his gaze is fixed on her face. He smiles small, moves one step closer toward her, enough to make Andy think she might be about to be kissed -

Only then her thoughts are interrupted by the clearing of a few throats.

* * *

"Okay then." It's Oliver that joins the conversation next. "I guess we've established how you two are getting there…that's great. Now can we go? There's a beer McNally promised me that's got my name written all over it. I don't want it to go warm." He raises his eyebrows, hitches a thumb over his shoulder. He also gives the rest of the crowd a few hand gestures to get them moving along.

As the mob makes their way out, Oliver turns on his heel, looks back at the joined hands of McNally and Sam. He grins at them both; has no more words of wisdom for now though. He's pretty sure they can take things from here. No hard stuff, there won't be any of that tonight.

* * *

Andy has no intention of letting go of Sam so she reaches down with her free hand to pick up her bag.

As soon as Sam realizes what she's going for, he reaches out to take it from her but she keeps a firm grip on the handle. "I've got it," she assures him with a grin.

Sam smirks back, slides his hand right down next to hers as he shrugs, "I know, just… I wanna do it."

Andy can feel the heat in her cheeks again; she's blushed more times tonight than she has in… in a long time. She looks down at the bag before she looks back up at Sam and releases the weight to him. "Okay," she breathes out.

Sam shoots her a quick wink before he shifts towards the door to lead them out. Andy's trailing along behind him when her eye catches movement from the side; she turns her head and gets a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She sucks in a loud breath and stops cold. She has no idea how this man can make her forget anything and everything.

Sam's brow is already furrowed when he checks back over his own shoulder.

"Sam I can't…"

He doesn't register anything after she says the word can't. All he can hear is the air rushing into his lungs as the blood rushes away from his head and engulfs his heart. He really can't…

He feels Andy tugging on his hand. "Sam… Sam…"

"Huh?"

"Look at me," she orders, waving her free hand up and down her body. "I can't go like this."

Sam releases the breath he's been holding, lets the doubts rush out with it. He runs his eyes slowly down her body, swallows audibly when he hits the smooth line of her thighs. Yeah, she's still wearing the boxing gear but the rest of the look, it's one that he really likes on her – when she's a little flushed, a little sweaty, a little… salty. He clears his throat, swallows down the memories of the familiar taste, lifts a hand to run it over his face but his hands are… full. He chuckles a little at himself; probably not the best place for his mind to be wandering right now.

Andy blushes a deeper shade of red under Sam's watchful eye, can't stop her mind from wandering to a few sweaty sessions of her own. She shakes her head, decides that she is not going anywhere without a shower even if it's quick… and cold.

When Sam finally meets her eye, she shrugs at him a little sheepishly. "Ten minutes?" She pleads, "Just to rinse off and get changed?"

Sam's arm flinches; he really needs to get a hand on… He sucks in a deep breath; he has to stop thinking about her sweaty, or in the shower… or... "Sure, sure," he agrees, "I'll just…" he flips his hand over his shoulder to where their friends just left.

"I'll be right there," she promises softly.

He passes her stuff back over to her, smiles when he feels the familiar tingle as his hand brushes against hers. "I'll be waiting," he pledges in that same soft tone, before he nods his head and strolls out the door.

* * *

Sam barely makes it out of the change room before he runs headlong into Oliver.

His buddy wrinkles his brow in confusion, leans first to one side to look around Sam and then the other. "Aren't you missing something there Brother?"

Sam grins. _Not any more, _he thinks but answers with, "she's just getting changed."

Oliver nods. "Well then, I guess we'll see you there." He raises a questioning eyebrow. "We _will_ see you there right?"

Sam chuckles at his friend, pushes him towards the exit. "We'll be there."

* * *

The wait is a little longer than the ten minutes she promised; it's more like fifteen. And forget that three months and six months she wasn't around…this is the longest wait of Sam's life.

With the building empty and quiet, he is left to his own devices and thoughts. He leans against the doorjamb, one foot perched on the frame and his head tilted back. The only noise he can hear is the water that's running for McNally's shower…and it's driving Sam completely insane.

He'd really like to just get in there, offer to scrub her back. Other parts too. Check out any bruises she might have incurred in the fight, get his eyes on any other changes since the last time he -

To distract himself, Sam plucks his phone out of his pocket, absentmindedly scrolling through old messages and smiling at ones that are still there from almost a year ago; a bunch of random texts from Andy, filled with emoticons, several of which were sent just after the first time she said 'I love you'.

He blows out a breath as he hears the taps turn off, wonders if it might be more appropriate to go all the way back out of the room –

* * *

Andy can't help but hum a little as she finishes with the hot water. She feels refreshed and clean - invigorated almost. She's not even really feeling the few bruises that have started to form. No doubt she may have a few aches tomorrow, but right now…she feels almost on top of the world.

She's glad she brought her best jeans to change into, a new floaty top too. Although she didn't _expect_ to be accompanying Sam to the Penny tonight, she did want to look nice…

She takes a quick look at the time on her phone, realizes she's already gone past the time she said it would take. She dips into her bag and grabs the essentials; moisturiser, deodorant, perfume, brush…and the basics where make-up's concerned.

Her heart picks up some pace as she goes about the routine of getting scrubbed up. She almost makes a mess with the eyeliner, distracted by thoughts of maybe…maybe…Sam giving her a ride home later…walking her to her door…

She averts the dramatic look at the last minute though, dropping her eyeliner to pick up lip-gloss instead. When she's done, she stacks everything in her bag, zips the thing up, and proceeds to practically run back out to where the lockers and benches are –

When she sees him standing in the doorframe she falters, almost bumping into the bench right in front. It's seriously like first date nerves all over again.

* * *

Sam's head swivels the second he hears McNally's re-entry, it's an impressive one as always. A little late, rushed, and noisy –

And the kind that takes Sam's breath away.

He grins over at her, starts shaking his head. He wouldn't mind teasing her about the grand entrance, wouldn't mind pointing out how long he's been waiting…

"Sorry. I know I took a while…" she puffs, hands flailing.

Sam's grin grows even bigger as his eyes trawl from her eyes to her feet and back up again. "Worth the wait." Sam didn't mean for his voice to crack as he said it, but it did, probably because there is not a single ounce of moisture left in his throat.

She's just...gorgeous. Fresh and clean and so –

He's not great with expressing himself, he knows that. Compliments are hard for Sam…to give (and to take). More often than not, it's just easier to conceal them behind some corny joke. But. Because he really wants to show her that he's going to try…

_Try_ to let her inside his head…

"You look…you look pretty, Andy. Beautiful, actually. Beautiful."

Andy bites into her lip, and then releases a broad smile. The expression alone is enough to dissipate any nerves Sam had lingering there.

* * *

It's not that Sam has never complimented her before, but there's definitely a difference to this. More often than not when he commented before on her being 'pretty', 'cute', 'beautiful', or any variation thereof, it was a little more…indirect.

She knows that words don't come easy for him. But there is always a whole lot of thought. She generally has been able to catch on by reading his actions, and the look on his face. Now, she stands here listening as well as seeing those thoughts of his…and it is…

A lot.

She opens her mouth, closes it, opens it again, and finally forces the sound out. "Thank you…" And then gives him another smile. It's about all she can manage really, probably best to leave it at that because she'd hate to spoil it.

They continue to grin at one another for a minute or so, a couple of teenagers waiting for a note to be passed. Eventually, it's Sam that breaks the silence, holding his hand out again. "Let's go."

* * *

They're definitely a little tentative with one another. For starters, the walk to the truck is quiet except for the sound of the gravel under their feet.

Oddly enough, it's Sam who keeps breaking the silence, some quiet words about the fight, and a question about where she managed to improve her left hook.

It's not until he opens the driver side door for her, not until she's up on the seat and strapping herself in that things get extra awkward though – Andy disclosing how she picked up tips from Collins while they were under…

She senses the stiffness in Sam as she talks about how their boxing sessions got started, realizes it probably hurts him to hear that Nick took his place in the ring…as innocent as that actually was.

He doesn't say a word as he turns to walk around to the passenger side; remains quiet and averting her gaze as he puts his seatbelt on.

"Sam," Andy says gently, looking over at him as she starts the engine up. "You do know Nick and I…we're good friends…we had a job to do…that's all we were…all we are…right?"

* * *

Sam chews into his cheek, turns in his seat to face her. He puts one hand on the back of her headrest, watches her face as she checks the mirrors despite the vacant lot. "Yeah…" his chest is tight even thinking about the whole 'good friends' thing. Knows he doesn't have a leg to stand on in terms of calling her out on whose company she's kept. "I know…I just…"

He turns and settles his eyes on the road when they finally get moving, the reality setting in that it actually _will _take more than a night for them to sort all of this out. "I'm sorry…I'm glad he had your back…I just..." He blows out a long breath. "I just wish it had been me…wish I hadn't…" Sam is struggling with even thinking this out, let alone saying it –

McNally's hand on his arm helps as the Penny finally comes into sight. "I know. I wish it was you too…"

The sentiment makes it a little easier on Sam, but he's still frustrated at how hard this whole forgiving yourself and making amends thing really is. He nods slowly.

"You weren't there then…but you are _now_, right? And_ I'm_ here with _you_." Andy glances at Sam's face even as she brings the truck to a stop in the parking lot of the Penny. This is all stupidly hard, but she'll be damned if she's not going to keep trying. She cuts the engine, and turns to face him again.

He smiles small; her words are just what he needed…bringing it back to _now_. What they need to keep doing _now_. It's now that counts. _Now_…and what happens _next_. "You're good at this making amends thing."

She smiles back at him softly. "I think we're getting a lot of practice…we just need to be one another's making-amends buddy, keeping one another in check."

Sam laughs a little. "Making-amends buddies? Is there a bracelet for that too?" He tilts his head. "C'mon, McNally. Lemme buy you that drink."

* * *

_Up next: Fight ain't over yet, gotta watch out for the ole one two ;)_


	8. Take It On The Chin

_A/N: Ready for another round? Thanks again for stopping by :)_

* * *

**Co-written **with** dcj**

**Disclaimer: We do not own Rookie Blue**

* * *

**_'Take it on the chin'_**

_"There are two main qualifications that make one skillful in boxing; the first is the ability to think in the ring, and the second is a boxer's sense of timing and distance. If a boxer has ring smarts and the ability to correctly gauge and judge distance then he has the potential to be a successful boxer. It is these attributes that allow him to use his physical assets and boxing style to be triumphant in the ring." – Monte Cox_

* * *

The walk from the truck to the Penny is easier, more comfortable. It's like with every step they take, everything gets a little lighter. (The pain, the hurt, it all gets left further behind.) They're still clutching on to one another, her hand tucked inside his, their fingers interlocked.

Sam's got his grip tight around the handle of the door, the other hand even tighter around McNally's. "You ready for this?" He asks her before he makes any move to take this further.

Andy tilts her head to the side, grins back big. "Fake it 'til you make it."

Sam shakes his head soft, matches the look in his eyes. He really can't believe this girl, can't believe how lucky he is, how happy he is that they don't _need_ to fake it… not anymore. "Think we need to get you a new saying," he decides out loud.

"Oh yeah?" She leans her body into his, pushes against him a little. "Maybe I'll get a new saying when you get a new joke book," she taunts, that errant eyebrow and her playful voice working in perfect tandem. She giggles as she covers the hand Sam has on the door with her own and pulls on it with him. "Here we go."

When they step into the entryway, Sam's mid-gripe, "if my jokes are that bad, how come they always end with you laughing like a hyena?" He doesn't get an answer though because his pout only serves to make Andy laugh a little louder.

And that's the sound that greets the patrons as the two finally make it through.

The long awaited couple immediately draws the eyes of Noelle and Oliver (who lifts his hand to wave them over but drops it just as quick). They're too busy staring at each other with those goofy grins they've had going for the last hour or so.

"It's about damn time you two got here," Noelle yells over before she turns to Oliver and holds out the palm of her hand, flips her fingers up and down a couple of times. "Pay up!" she orders.

Oliver pulls out a twenty and slides it into her palm before he turns back to the bemused couple. He slaps his hand on the stool beside him. "Come on, you might as well sit down, the damage is done."

Sam's eyes are making a good scan of the ceiling as he shakes his head; he chuckles a little when he gets a glimpse of the blush Andy's got going on her cheeks. He gives her hand a quick squeeze before he lets it go to pull out her chair.

With his hands free, he claps Oliver once hard on the shoulder. "I told you we were coming."

"Yeah, well, you also told me to tell Zoe the truth about the strippers," Oliver reminds him from way back when, "and we both know how well that one turned out; don't we? You're just lucky this one won't end up with me camping out on your sofa." Oliver has a feeling that extra spot on his couch isn't going to be available for the next little… or long while anyway.

Sam chuckles at his brother, grips hard on his shoulder. "Let me make it up to you. What are you drinking?"

Oliver tips his beer up with a grin, more than happy with the gesture. Sam nods and spins around to Andy who's talking quietly with Noelle; he places a light hand on her back to get her attention. "You ready for that drink?"

Andy opens her mouth to agree but Noelle steps in before she can answer, slides herself right in between the two of them. "Nope, you have all the time in the world to get her a drink." She looks down at her watch. "I only have half an hour before Frank and I gotta be home and I am treating this lady to a beverage."

Andy smiles, shakes her head a little; she appreciates the gesture, but she really just wants to get that drink from Sam. She knows it's silly, knows that it doesn't have to be tonight. But she just wants to accept the offer and make it official or something. "Noelle, you don't have to…"

Noelle's already waving Liam over as she waves Andy off. "Believe me, I owe you. Two full nights of babysitting is not cheap. This is my pleasure."

Andy's face scrunches a little in confusion; she guesses she had said she'd be willing to do it again but… She runs her hand through the still wet pony tail, feels a twinge in her side when she lifts her arm. "But I only babysat for you one night..."

Noelle narrows her eyes at Sam when he crowds at her space as she turns to answer.

Sam glares back at her before he takes a step back. He keeps his eye on Andy though, checks for any other signs that she might be in any kind of pain. He still really wants to get close and take that inventory, find out where it hurts.

Noelle just shakes her head, can't for the life of her figure out how he made it that long without McNally in arm's reach. She huffs out a breath and turns her attention back to Andy. "Let's just say that your victory this evening may have made this a very cheap night for me…" She nods her head once slow in emphasis, "_very_ cheap."

Andy's eyebrows skyrocket to the top of her head before she grins big. It probably shouldn't surprise her; Noelle always seems to have that sixth sense about everything and everyone. Still she wonders just how much Noelle might have anticipated… and won. She shrugs her shoulders once in indecision. "Beer?"

"Coming right up," Noelle agrees before turning to the man still practically glued to the brunette's side. "Sammy, what'll you have?"

"Heyyy," Oliver moans, sticking his head out from the other side of Sam. "What about me?"

Noelle tips her chin at the drink in front of him. "You have one and Sammy's getting your next one," she recants, "he just said so."

Oliver frowns; he's a little put out that he couldn't get one from her too, especially since he knows just how accurate her bet was. "But you're getting his," Oliver whines, "and I just gave you another twenty bucks."

Noelle just shrugs. "Life's a bitch," she reasons before she turns back to the couple of the hour, "Sammy?"

Sam smiles big, really does like his friends… family a whole lot. "Beer for me too."

Noelle calls Liam over and in no time drinks are set in front of them… all four of them.

"Awww," Oliver coos. "You do love me."

"I just couldn't stand to hear your whining for the rest of the night," Noelle insists but she's hiding a grin behind the bottle as she takes a drink. "So…" she starts, holding out her beer in preparation to make a toast, until she's interrupted by the arrival of the rest of the rookies.

"Hey Killer," Traci greets, pulling Andy out of her seat for a huge hug. "Sorry," she offers quickly when she hears a small groan and feels Andy stiffen up in her arms a little.

Neither woman notices when Sam's head snaps over to them, eyes full of concern. Noelle does though, has an even bigger grin going behind her drink this time.

"Oh…I was going to buy you a drink," Dov bemoans when he sees Andy pick up her bottle.

He's not upset for long though because then he remembers why he was going to do just that. "I can't believe you kicked her ass," he almost giggles. "If I would have known you were going to do that I would have bet more. You definitely had me fooled with all that 'it's for charity crap." His eyes get real wide. "I heard that one person actually bet on the knockout; can you believe it?"

Andy takes a furtive peek at Noelle whose eyes are shifting around, looking anywhere but at her and Dov, her dimples are bookending the bottle as she takes a drink though. So Andy waits for a few seconds till the woman's eyes finally land back on her. Andy tips her glass in congratulations and gets a quick nod in return.

It takes Andy a second but then she realizes that Dov's been talking the whole time… "fifty bucks off Andrews' pool and another fifty from the rec centre." He grins big at her. "Next one's on me."

Oliver slaps him hard on the back. "Thanks buddy," he crows before he elbows Sam in the side. "Yeah thanks Epstein," Sam echoes.

Dov frowns, swallows down a gulp of his own beer. _So much for his winnings._

"Better buckle in McNally," Gail butts in and warns, "you're in for a looong night."

Andy tries to force the smile onto her face but then she gets a glimpse of the look on Sam's and sees the same disappointment she's trying to mask. She offers him a tight grin and a shrug but before she can suggest that they maybe duck out, Gail's sliding in between them cutting off her view.

She studies the smirk on Gail's face, tries to decide just how purposeful the blonde's actions are. The wink Gail throws Andy lets her know her friend knows exactly what she's doing. "Soooo," Gail announces loudly, "who here put their money on McNally?"

She makes a point of dramatically counting all the hands in the air, pointing to each person and calling the numbers out loudly. In the end, she's noted Nick, herself, Dov, Traci, Noelle and Oliver. "Looks like you've got five more drinks coming your way, honey, and that's just this crowd. Looks like _someone's_ going to have to make sure you get home safely," she surmises her eyes directed right at Sam.

Not that Andy was averse to Sam taking her home; she was counting on it actually. She just did not want to be a blithering idiot when he did it. "You know we don't have to get through it all tonight."

"You got somewhere to be McNally?" Gail calls her out. "Big plans maybe…"

"I… uh…" Andy's cheeks have gone a deep shade of red and she's apparently lost the power of speech.

"McNally's in hurry everybody," Gail yells out. "You know what that means…" she pauses dramatically before squealing "Shots!"

"Tequila!" Dov seconds.

"Hold on, hold on," Noelle directs, ever the voice of reason. "We are not doing shots…" she looks over at Peck whose got a pretty mean pout going on, "…yet."

She chuckles softly at the smirk she gets back from the blonde. "Whatever you do when I leave is up to you, but right now I'm going to make a toast."

Frank slides up behind Andy having just said goodbye to a couple of bigwigs who were on their way out the door. "Here, here," he agrees tipping up his drink and earning a big grin from Andy.

"To McNally," Noelle begins clearing her throat, "it was a hard fought battle but sometimes it's that fight… that struggle that make us stronger. And with the right people in your corner…" Noelle looks around at the family in front of her nodding at them all in turn. "Backing you up, picking you up when you fall, reminding you what you're fighting for, there's no way you can lose. I knew from the start there was a force here to be reckoned with. And that's why even when you were down; I knew you were never out. What you want… have, is worth it, worth fighting for. And I could see it in your eyes - sometimes… you just know."

* * *

It's taken Sam practically all of Noelle's toast and then some to get back to within an arm's length of McNally again. Despite all the heads that popped up in front of him, he managed to keep an eye on her for the better part of the speech –

Clenched his jaw every time her face twitched when someone patted her hard on the shoulder or put their arms around her. Of course, she's smiled through the whole lot, albeit a little teary when Noelle was still talking, but Sam can tell she's definitely incurred some bruises at least.

He's almost close enough to lean in and ask her if she's alright when he hears "Swarek" said from behind. When he turns around, Collins is standing there, a neutral expression on his face and two beers in his hands.

Army-boy smiles at him; hands over one of the ale's. "I, uh, did buy this for Andy, but it looks like she might be covered for the rest of the night."

Sam grips the cool glass and looks up at Collins. Eventually he nods. He does some deep breathing while he collects his thoughts, figures out what should…what needs to be said…

"No doubt she owes you a few too, so…" Sam starts, then clears his throat. "I probably need to man up for a couple myself."

Nick tilts his head as he looks back at Swarek, a little confused as to why the detective thinks that's the case. He wonders how much Andy has been able to tell him about what happened UC –

"I know you've got her back…I know you were a good partner…I know you were there when…" Sam continues, eyes inspecting Collins' face. Sam doubts he'll be able to finish any sentence he starts at this rate. "I know you're a good friend to her." The words feel kind of strange coming out of Sam's mouth…but they also feel right.

It actually lifts a weight off his shoulders, _him_ labelling what Collins and McNally are. And it's not that Sam ever wants Andy to confide in any of her other 'friends' more than she does him, but he realizes that this past eight months…longer…he wasn't able to let her do that. Nor her for him. He hopes that's one thing that changes…he's pretty sure they're on the right track.

Nick's not really sure if everything is patched up between these two, but…from everything he's seen so far tonight, it's well on its way. He's happy for them both, even more so if it's what they've decided they want…together. Nick nods. "I guess the timing was right for a friendship to form. I think it really helped us both to have someone there who understood, knew exactly what (or who) we were missing from home… Andy's… she's a great friend to have."

Sam grins, takes another peek at McNally who's just been released from a hug by Noelle. She shakes Frank's hand and barely gets them waved out the door before Nash is in her ear. He thinks about how great it might be…all this friendship stuff an added bonus to…everything else that they're figuring out. He chuckles a little, thinking of other friendship-related conversations of the past hour. "She, uh. She ever give you a friendship bracelet?"

Nick chokes out a laugh, his mind running wild with what this pair might've discussed after the knockout. He shakes his head, thinks back to self-help books in the cruiser and lonely nights on Dakota. "I think that one might've been reserved especially for you, Swarek…although she did make me watch a couple of crappy chic-flicks one time…drank a bottle or two of red with her that night too." Nick purses his lips. "Had to draw the line at the toenails though, camouflage or not, there's _no way_ she was getting her polish anywhere near me."

Sam laughs, nodding. He can picture just how annoying Andy might've been in the six months UC. Hell, he has had his fair share of movie commentary McNally style, feet up on _his_ coffee table, bottles and Kleenex and who knows what scattered about…which might be something he secretly won't mind in the future… at all.

"And don't get me started on her taste in ice cream," Nick frets, "no one… no one wants green ice cream."

Sam's laughter stalls out a little at that, remembers a few nights of his own when he may have found himself looking down at some Rocky Road instead of his standard fare.

"Sam…" Nick says, just above the din. He tips his glass to Swarek's, offering up their own private toast. "I know you have her heart…but I'll always have her back." He briefly considers giving the detective some heavy; _don't mess it up this time_, or something stronger than that. But, all indicators suggest that Swarek is in a different place now. He's ready to fight this time around.

* * *

Andy bites into her lip softly as she catches Sam and Nick talking. They're less than a metre away from her, but it might as well be a kilometre because she can't hear a single word that's being said.

She's doing her best to pay attention to Gail and Traci, but she would really love to hear the Sam and Nick conversation as well.

Traci catches her on the elbow, tugs a little. "You can get the dirt from Sam later, Andy…check in on just how protective Nick is of you…"

The words sting Gail just a little…it's not…it's not that she doesn't trust Nick and Andy, but every once in a while she feels taken aback at just how close they are. Still. Of all the people that could've been partnered up with him, she is glad it was Andy. She knows her friend is loyal and would take a bullet for any one of her rookie colleagues.

Andy feels Gail stiffen beside her, knows things between her two friends are still delicate. _Knows_ how it feels to think there's a possibility the man you love cares more for somebody else –

"Gail…" Andy croaks. They've been through this before; Gail knows nothing has ever happened between Andy and Nick beyond friendship.

Gail nods, brushing Andy off with a couple of hand waves. "I know…I know…I get it, I just…" she clears her throat. "God. Can't we just talk about how you kicked Cruz' ass instead?"

Traci blows out a breath; this tangled web of feelings between all of her friends is…complicated to say the least. She doesn't mean to keep putting her foot in her mouth, but it's like walking on eggshells sometimes. As far as she's concerned, the sooner everyone's exactly where they need to be…with _who_ they need to be, and confident about that, the better.

"Forget Cruz," Traci sighs, wanting to get to the crux of the matter. "You and Swarek…I take it all the hand-holding and laughing that was happening when you walked in here means a make-up is well under way?"

A warm tingle runs from Andy's fingertips to her shoulder, and then through to her chest; the thought of being able to hold Sam's hand once again getting the better of her. She smiles small, glances back over his way. She notices Nick is mid animated conversation Chris and Dov, and Oliver is now at Sam's side.

There's a lot to fill her friends in on, but right now it feels like there are still more questions than answers, and she just wants to…

Keep some things private for now. She wants to ask and answer important questions with and for Sam first. Still. She knows how much her friends care about her, that they want her to be happy. She keeps looking in the direction of Sam, willing him to look her way, maybe somehow help her with what she should say –

He does look at her; a slight turn of his face and his warm eyes on her. He smiles a little, cocks his head in the direction of Oliver and then rolls his eyes.

She smiles big back at him, angles her own face in the direction of Traci and Gail. Rolls hers too.

They don't take their eyes off one another for a little while. Long enough for Andy to feel like it's just the two of them here in this room.

"Oh God," she hears Gail's voice interrupt. "Trace, I can't hear Andy's answer. I mean she's still here right? You see her too don't you? Unless… you don't think her body's been taken over by…"

Andy jumps to attention, blinking her eyes and refocusing on Traci and Gail. She smiles big. "Under way…yep. Tonight…is a definite start."

Traci's grin is easy. She knows Andy will tell her in her own time everything that needs to be told. She's just glad that her friend looks so…happy and relaxed. It's been a while since she's seen her like this. Still…because it's such fun to tease, she can't help but vocalize a new mantra of hers: "Well… the best way to get 'things' under way is to get under…or on top…or…"

"Trace!" Andy practically shrieks, giggling and blushing, and almost spilling her drink. It's really not fair that these images keep getting burned into her brain. She flaps her free hand around, snatching a serviette off the table behind them to try and soak up some of what she spilled. "We only just…we're not…he was…and I…"

Traci and Gail cackle loudly, both women not even trying to contain themselves at Andy's flustered and futile attempts to deny that she wants Sam Swarek back between her sheets tonight.

"Well…" Traci sighs, another slow smirk crossing her face. "Something tells me guards are not the only thing going down tonight. There gonna be some 'heavenly' escapades that'll have you both out for the count?"

Andy can't contain the shriek she lets out; peels of laughter coming freely as she shakes her head at her best friend's incessant… jabs.

* * *

Oliver nudges at Sam's elbow; Andy's bright laughter ringing loud across every other noise in the room. It looks as though something either Peck or Nash have said has got her a little flustered as well. Oliver can't help but smile at her…and the look on Sam's face as he watches McNally mopping some beer that she spilled.

His good buddy looks…content…happy…

Oliver peers into the near empty glass in Sam's hand. Figures it might be time to celebrate with something better than beer. "Sammy," Oliver quirks an eyebrow, clicks his fingers in front of Sam's eyes to get his attention again. "How about I buy you another drink?"

Sam's eyebrows climb all the way to his hairline, his eyes going wide. "You're actually going to pay?"

Oliver pats at Sam's shoulder. "Special occasion. Once only treat."

Sam looks back in the direction of McNally; he notices she's still got at least half of her beer left, calculates in his head that at least another two rounds will be headed her way before it's his turn to buy her a drink.

"Sounds good," Sam replies, turning around to find that Oliver's already picking drinks up from the bar. He whistles when Shaw hands over the tumbler, already has his nostrils enticed by the bouquet of his favourite Scotch.

Ollie holds up his glass in a 'cheers'; both men are silent as they take their first sip. It might have something to do with the beer that Sam just downed, but the Scotch tastes a little different this time.

He licks his lips, takes another slow sip. Closes his eyes and lets the flavours fill the whole of his mouth before the liquid warms the rest of his throat and then chest. It goes down easy, better than ever before. It's the same, but it's different –

Better somehow.

"What's this?" Sam squints his eyes, curious. Maybe it's the same label, but something older…a little more matured perhaps?

"The one you generally reserve for poker nights…and other celebratory events." Oliver sips at his, grinning around the edge of the glass. "What? You're not enjoying it?" Oliver knows that's really not the case. His good buddy appears to be savouring each sip like it's his last. In fact, he'd go as far as to say that Sammy is actually tasting every flavour at last, he's worked out that the trick to making the most of it (beyond the experimentation) is to just_ be_ with it,_ let it_ work it's magic from the moment it touches his lips.

"Just going down even easier than usual, that's all," Sam replies, still curious. He backs off from the temptation to swill it, really wants to savour the taste. He makes a mental note to check his stocks at home –

He knows McNally likes Scotch on the odd occasion, he really has an overwhelming desire to share this one with her…maybe tell her about Jerry and his dad while he's at it…tell her what he likes about drinking Scotch…about how drinking it tonight has created another memory; one about her.

It's while he's facing Shaw, savouring another sip that he feels a gentle hand on his back; McNally's hand. Her touch matches the slow burn that the Scotch is working through him too.

He swivels on a heel carefully, his head a little giddy from the warmth of…everything. He smiles down at her, places his free hand around hers. He looks down at the empty glass she's carrying, wonders if it's his turn.

"Hey," he greets her with that soft gravelly voice that makes her want to just… stay… never let him let her go again.

"Hey," she breathes back, uses their intertwined hands to pull herself in a little closer.

Oliver takes that as his cue to slide off his seat and make a trip to the washroom, maybe join the rookies when he comes back, convince Epstein to get him that drink he _promised_ earlier.

"How'd you manage that?" Sam nods down at her glass, a couple of drops and a ring of froth the only thing left of her beer. "The way I had it figured, they'd be lining 'em up for you."

Andy grins big back at him. "Oh they tried," she replies, eyes wide and head bobbing. "I begged off."

Sam lifts an eyebrow, thinks maybe he's not the only ready for this turn. "Begged?"

"Begged, pleaded… bargained," she lists with a shrug.

"Oh yeah," Sam chuckles, plucks the empty glass from her hand and places it on the top of the bar. He tips his chin up at her. "What'd it cost ya?"

"Girls' Night with Gail and Traci," Andy brags, purses her lips as she tilts her head, proud as punch twinkle in her eye.

"So basically nothing," Sam drawls, runs his free hand slowly down her arm just because he can.

Andy lifts her brow in challenge. "Well I do have to get a bottle of red before…"

_Before…? _"So like tomorrow or… when are you…" he stutters out. It's not that he doesn't want her to go out with her friends, it's just that eight months is a long time and he's kind of hoping that they can shut out the world for a little bit at least while they're not at work. Maybe get a good start at putting this all back together… moving forward the right way.

Andy smiles, knows exactly what he's getting at here… and she is definitely on the same page. "I told them we'd figure it out in a few days, make plans" she answers softly, catches his eye as she leans in a little closer, "but I had a few… _things_ I needed to get a _start_ on first."

Sam has no words, lets his dimples do the talking on this one. And from the looks of it, he likes this idea a whole lot; Andy can tell. Her eyes dip down to his cheeks and then to his mouth. She really just wants to…

She jumps a little at the sound of her bottle being pulled across the counter beside her. When Liam doesn't ask her if she wants another, she furrows her brow… wonders if someone has already… She curls her head around to look behind her. "I told the girls but I should probably catch Nick," she decides, "before he comes over with one."

After a few twists and turns, she spots him on the other side of the bar with the boys and a couple of rows of shots. They're deep in discussion about who knows what though so she figures she's safe for a bit.

"I got yours," Sam says when he finally finds his voice again.

"What?"

"Collins, he brought me one a bit ago," he explains, "said it was yours but he figured you were covered for the night. Guess he knew you were going to be a lightweight tonight." Sam tries to keep his voice light too, thinks he's getting at least a little better at accepting their friendship. Still he feels Andy giving his hand a small squeeze.

"He's a good friend," she says peering across the bar. Nick's just picking up a shot when he catches the two of them looking over at him. Sam watches on as he exchanges a few facial expressions with Andy, then a couple of raised eyebrows, until a giggle from her and a nod from him ends the 'conversation'.

Sam tries to take it all in stride. They're friends and they were partners and he knows what it's like to have to rely on someone in the field; your life could depend on how well you communicate without words… right now though, he needs to figure out how to get better _with_ the words. "He is," Sam manages, it's not much but he finds that he really does mean it.

"Oh and Dov..." Andy squeaks out, realizing that she hadn't talked to him yet either and if anyone was apt to buy her a drink...

She moves to drop Sam's hand but he holds fast, uses his hand and body to press her back against the bar. "Hey, hold on, Epstein was supposed to buy us all a round," he teases.

Andy drops her chin, wonders if he's thought this one all the way through. "You want me to get him," she offers tips her head across the bar as she tries to shift away again, "because I can," she sighs out long and loud, "… I mean if you really want _that drink_…"

"No, no, I'll be fine," he insists, "I was just worried about Shaw; you know how he gets when he has to buy his own."

Andy takes another peek behind her and sees Oliver has joined the boys, more shots lining the bar and Dov pulling out his wallet. She leans to the side a little so Sam can get a clear view. "I'm pretty sure Oliver can take care of himself."

"Oh yeah?" Sam wonders, doesn't look…doesn't care to look. He guides her body back over so she's right in front of him again, dips his head down a little so they're eye to eye. "And what about you… who gets to take care of you?" He quizzes as he leans in even closer; he just really wants to kiss her right now. Doesn't even care who's around.

Andy's losing the battle against the smile that's fighting to get on her face. "Well I was kind of hoping…"

Before she can finish her thought and propose that drink, they hear a throat clearing behind Sam. He leans around Andy a bit; most of their friends are still within his eye view though so...

When he starts to pivot to the side, he hears Andy suck in a loud breath when she sees who's behind him. His eyes go as wide as hers when he gets a look for himself.

* * *

She doesn't even know why she's there really, why she would take the time to rub it in her own face. Maybe she just wants to show him, them that she's… fine. That it's all going to be business as usual as far as she's concerned.

She was on her way home after a drink with her friends, found herself driving by the Penny and she just…

She can see the shock on both of their faces, hopes hers doesn't look the same. It shouldn't surprise her how close they are but it does. She knows the feelings are there, could see it the second McNally stepped foot in the barn. It's just that it feels… fast… to her anyway.

Fast or not though, she can see that it's… natural, relaxed… and that Sam is the one that is pinning _her_ against the bar.

He's _doing_ it. She hates that her mind thinks back to all the times they were together and he _let_ her kiss him or touch him, but he never… When her eye drops down to their joined hands, she shakes her head, tells herself it doesn't matter anymore.

She looks back up quickly, doesn't want to dwell; she can see the tension in Sam's eyes, face… entire body. He is not happy to see her there.

McNally for her part is not even looking at Marlo. She's got her lip worried between her teeth and her eyes glued to Sam.

"I… uh," Marlo blows out a long, slow breath before she thrusts out her hand towards Andy. "You really came back there McNally. I underestimated…" boy if this was an apology she really wasn't doing well at it. She takes another breath and starts again. "Great fight, congratulations."

She's still got her hand extended out in front of her as she sneaks a peek over at Sam and his jaw… she knows he's holding back. She turns her attention to Andy again, waits.

* * *

Andy has to drop Sam's hand to shake Marlo's. She knows he's not happy about it; she actually has to work to get her hand free. She's not really happy about it either, thinks it might not be a bad idea to keep hold of him right now. But she knows if they're all going to work together, it's probably best to put it all behind them as soon as they can.

She holds Sam's eyes for a couple of seconds, only looks away when he nods in understanding. It's curt though. He gets it, but he doesn't have to like it.

Andy gives the other woman's hand a quick shake. But the second she lets go of Marlo, she's got her hand on Sam's back, rubbing up and down as discreetly as she can. She keeps an eye on the other woman though, can't figure what else she might want because she doesn't seem to be moving anytime soon.

Marlo tilts her head to the side, tries to catch Sam's eye, but his focus is trained to the side of Andy's head. She purses her lips, blows out another breath. "I was hoping you'd let me buy you a drink," she reveals after a couple of seconds.

Andy sucks in a quick breath as Sam's body almost spasms underneath her hand. She shakes her head almost immediately, knows that there is no way that he will go for that… at least not now. "Maybe not tonight," she suggests as cordially as she can. "We…I was just about to…"

When she rolls her head to the side to check in, there's a quick flash of teeth.

* * *

It takes him a few seconds before he can meet her eye; tone down the anger, at least a little. He really can't believe Cruz is there. I mean yeah it's a bar they all go to but tonight…really? And to try and… she had to know… especially after what she did… said.

Andy's still got a hand rubbing on his back; he appreciates the gesture but right now he just… he's doing everything he can not to lash out and tell Cruz just what he thinks of her.

He can see the concern in Andy's eyes, and he knows she can see the struggle in his. She's worried about what he might do… say… feel. He tries his best to muster up something reassuring – a grin, a wink… but he's really got nothing but anger right now.

Andy purses her lips, corners turned up just a tiny bit. She blinks once slow before she spares a quick glance for Cruz. It's Sam she's looking at when she speaks though, and it's soft, assuring, "now's not the time."

Sam huffs out a breath, feels some tension leave his body right along with it. If it had been just him, he would have walked out on Marlo the second she showed up, but he wasn't about to leave Andy there alone and she was too nice to…

But she gets it… gets him… knows that now is one of those times they talked about… _bona fide savant in training._

Sam slides his hand behind his back, seeks out the one she's got rubbing, squeezes it once quick before he announces, "I need some air," and pushes his way past Marlo and heads out the door.

"Well, that went well," Marlo mutters under her breath.

It doesn't really register on Andy though; she's got her eyes on the door, the look in them somewhere between sad, mad and disappointed. They are supposed to have that drink and now… she just really wants to curse the universe and its mean magic. She's pretty sure he'll still be out there but… she's still learning about his need for time and space so she can't help it if she feels a little bit worried.

"Maybe in a couple days (or weeks)," Andy proposes eyes bouncing between the exit and the woman in front of her. "I think I've had enough for tonight," she states, trying to keep the malice from entering her voice.

Marlo scratches a little at the back of her head, looks down at the rail at the bottom of the bar before she glances back up. "I owe you an apology," she blurts. "It wasn't fair of me to say that… use that to…"

"No, it wasn't," Andy agrees brusquely, refusing to make it too easy for her. "You really have no idea what I..."

"You're right I don't," Marlo concedes nodding, even though in reality she's pretty sure she does. It's just nowhere near what she implied in the fight, but it's written all over her face… his too. "Can you tell Sam I'm sorry too?" she presses.

"For?"

_For the only thing that would make him that angry… hurting you_, she thinks, but all she says is "just tell him I'm sorry."

And then Marlo's gone, headed to the far side of the bar and sliding into a solitary stool.

Andy continues to watch on as she tips her hand at the bartender and he slides a tumbler over to her. No ice, straight up… Andy watches her grimace as she swallows the first sip. She doesn't know what the drink of choice is, just knows it's something strong.

Her attention is pulled away when Oliver sidles up to her not so gracefully, Nick hot on his heels. She has to wonder if maybe the boys talked Oliver into partaking in a few shots himself. He smiles small at her, jingles his keys out in front. "You gonna need a ride?"

Nick's hand is trying to reach over the older man's shoulders; there's no way he's driving tonight. Andy shakes her head, smiles small at her friend before she blinks once slow. She's got this covered. He nods in agreement and heads back to see if he can talk Gail and Traci into heading home too, following the sound of the squeals over by the dartboard.

"I'm not sure," she tells Oliver and she's not, not really. She knows that she basically told him to go, take some time… and space, but she's still not one hundred per cent sure what that means yet. How much time and how much space he might need… they're still working that bit out. "Maybe I should go find out."

"I'll go with you," he offers, slips a little when he waves his hand out front for her to go.

Andy takes the opportunity to swipe the keys from his grip. "You won't be needing these."

"I know, I know," Oliver concedes, "I just thought you might drop me home… if, you know."

Andy grins; it's her turn to have his back. "Sure Oliver, let's go."

* * *

_Up Next: The final bell!_


	9. Title Bout

_A/N: And so we come to the final 'round'! There MAY be an epilogue...but if there is, it will be a little while away. If/When it does come, we hope it's worth the wait ;)_

_Thankyou so very much for fighting with us, it has been an absolute blast from our end! To those who have taken the time to review...hugs to you...it really is great knowing that we've got our corner covered; that people don't mind us adopting these great characters for a short while to do with them a few of the things that we think...maybe...some day...they might be capable of._

_By and large, this is a truly great fandom to be a part of. And we know some people think that this coming season will be hard...and no doubt it will. But we also know that the best rewards come from the best fights. Hang in there Sam/Andy shippers - those two are __**meant**__ for one another. And sooner, (or maybe later), they will figure it out...and we'll ALL get the very best of what that partnership (and fight) brings ;)_

_Happy Rookie Blue Season 4 premiere day to you all!_

* * *

**Co-written **with** dcj**

**Disclaimer: We don't own Rookie Blue**

* * *

**_'Title Bout'_**

_"He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life." - Muhammad Ali_

* * *

When they get outside, Sam is leaning up against his truck arms crossed. His eyes are closed and his head is tilted back resting against the driver's door.

"You waiting for someone?" Andy calls out from a few steps away, turns when she hears Oliver muttering something at the same time, "…ing for your rookie?"

She furrows her brow, not sure she's heard him right. "What?"

"Nothing," he mumbles, waves her away as he side steps towards the front of the vehicle.

Sam had heard the door open and close, was hoping it was her, but wasn't sure if she'd come after him that quickly – they'd barely gotten back together let alone worked out the specifics of how long it might take him when he needs to… figure things out.

He blows out a breath of relief, glad that she's here. There's a sheepish smile on his face when he opens his eyes. "Well, Peck did say that _someone_ would need to get you home."

"Taking care of everyone," Oliver mumbles out, resting his hands on the hood of the truck before dropping his head on top of them.

Sam furrows his brow first at his friend and then over at Andy. He really hopes that had not been her Plan B.

She answers the unspoken question with a shake of her head, holds her hand up to show off the set of keys she wrangled from Oliver on the way out the door. "The boys were doing shots."

Sam huffs out a soft chuckle; Oliver's always been a bit of a lightweight.

"I can't really…" Andy waves her hand over to Oliver who's slid down the front of the truck and is trying to tie his shoe, actually ends up with his ass on the ground. "Maybe I should drive him home," Andy proposes regretfully; it's not really what she wants though… she wants to end the night with Sam... "You could follow me? Maybe drive me home after so he can have his car in the morning?"

Oliver's left his car behind before and he can do it again, Sam decides. Because he's not letting Andy out of his sights and he won't leave Oliver behind. "Come on, Buddy," Sam beckons, slips around the front of the truck and helps Oliver to his feet a little. "We'll take you home."

"What about my car?" Oliver worries as Sam escorts him around to the passenger side and opens up the back door.

"It's not going anywhere," Sam assures him as he watches him fumble in. He waits as Oliver wrestles with the belt a little, makes sure he's got it all secure. "You can get it in the morning," Sam tells him as he shuts the door.

"Okie, Doke," Oliver replies then lets his head falls against the window.

Andy's already sitting in the front seat so Sam jogs around and jumps in. Looks back at his friend and then rolls his eyes a little at Andy. "And here I thought that was going to be you tonight."

Andy giggles as she slaps at him across the chest. He grabs her hand and holds on tight, wants to say a whole lot of things about how glad he is that she's there.

"How come _I_ don't get shot gun?"

Andy purses her lips and tries not to laugh. She's seen Oliver tipsy before, but it's like his whole personality is amplified tonight. She bites her tongue on the response that almost slips out: _this is __**my**__ seat_. Instead, she teases; "I don't think Sam wants you to barf on his console, Oliver. He needs to see where he's going, okay?"

Oliver reaches an arm across, makes an attempt to pat Andy on the shoulder. "Now I'll just barf on the back of your head, McNally," he tells her around a hiccup. "How you think he's going to feel about that, huh? Although, maybe it'll be an excuse for him to -"

"Oliver," Sam interrupts, sternly. He does not need his drunken buddy filling in blanks to images that have already built up in his mind. He shakes his head and sighs. "You, my friend, have T minus ten to sober up a little. I'm not having Zoe pin the blame on me for the state you're in this time around."

Andy whips her head around to face Sam properly, wonders if that's what Izzy meant that time…She knows the guy is no saint, but the influence he and Oliver have over one another…how different the two men seem to be…it intrigues her. Their friendship is something she'd like to see at play more often.

"Never you mind, brother," Oliver gurgles. "Zoe knows exactly how I might be turning in for the night, we discussed it before. As it turns out, this 'compromise' thing really does work."

Sam looks in his rear view mirror, rolls his eyes at his friend. Somehow, he can't imagine Zoe being completely enamored with Oliver in the state that he's in. Still, it's good to hear that his buddy is happy, and things are working out. He knows how important Zoe and the girls are to Oliver, how broken he was when he lost what he had. Sam and Andy may not have the extensive history or the children…but…she is…he can't bring himself to think about losing her again.

"Hey…speaking of compromise," Oliver continues. "How 'bout we stop for hot dogs?"

Sam squints, looks in the mirror again. "How is stoppin' for hot dogs 'compromise' Shaw? What do McNally and I get outta that?"

Sam continues to watch the expressions on his friend's face change, like he's thinking out the response that will entice the other two the most. "Uh. We all get hot dogs?"

Sam frowns. Suddenly he's reminded that McNally has probably not eaten a single thing since lunchtime today aside from that apple flip he got her. Neither has Sam, but he's not really that hungry for food. He just wants to drop their third wheel and get Andy all to himself. But. Sam clears his throat, glances at Andy. "You hungry, McNally?"

Andy bites into her lip. She hadn't thought about food until Oliver mentioned it. And now her stomach is threatening to growl. She used a lot of energy in the fight, (before and after it too). She twists her mouth, doesn't want for Sam to have to keep taking detours.

He smiles at her though. "I take it that's a yes?"

She shrugs high. "A little…but…" she lowers her voice. "I mean…I don't want us to drive around in circles all night."

"Good point, McNally!" Oliver holds an index finger up high, swivels it around to get everyone's attention with whatever idea he's going to come up with next. "So. We head to that joint that's a street over from yours…get ourselves some food…give me a chance to freshen up for my lovely wife…then Sammy drops you off, then he takes me home." Oliver nods proudly, pleased with himself for coming up with such logistical brilliance despite the fact that his brain is still in an alcohol-induced fog.

Andy's eyes widen, and she bites again on her lip. That…is not a good idea in her books. It's terrible in fact. Sure, it makes sense…it's just. Well, she was kind of hoping that at the very least, Sam would be able to walk her to her door; that they could take their time in saying goodnight. She had even hoped that maybe he'd stay a while…

Sam catches McNally's expression out of the corner of his eye; her face is probably the mirror of his. Although, his frown comes earlier than hers. He's going to have a word with Oliver about this later. What is his friend even thinking? One minute his buddy is basically sending out invitations to a McNally-Swarek wedding, and the next he's disrupting their…night.

Sam narrows his eyes, trying to send some vibes to the back of the truck. He can't see Shaw's face in the darkness, so he's not sure if he's joking or not –

Oliver rests his head back against the window, smirks a little as he thinks his own private thoughts. He's assuming he'll get a resounding 'NO!' from the front of the cabin any minute now. He does want the hot dog, but beyond that…well, he's probably as determined to keep McNally and Swarek together for the rest of the night as they are…almost. He wants proof though. All this hard work he's put in this past couple of weeks. He wants evidence to suggest that they're going to do the hard work now.

"I don't think so," Sam huffs eventually, keeping his eyes fixed to the road. "For starters, there's a diner not far from where you live…and…and I…" Sam clears his throat. He berates himself. Why should it be so hard to confess what he really wants to do? He swallows. Tries again. "And I want…need…to talk to Andy some more."

Oliver smiles freely, leans forward in his sleep. "Oh, okay brother, I get it. Give the McNally a long kiss goodnight. I can understand why you want to take her home last." He inspects the blush that McNally has spreading across her face, those big eyes of hers are glued to the road and she's not moving an inch. All told though, she looks pretty pleased with what Sam said before.

Oliver keeps his eyes fixed on her, despite the fact he's talking to Sam still. "But you'll come pick me up in the morning right, drop me at the Penny so I can pick up my car."

McNally's dropped features are a dead giveaway as to what she thinks of that particular idea. There's disappointment for sure. Oliver wishes Sam had been looking in her direction, but his friend has a glazed over expression and is continuing to watch the road.

"Why?" Sam practically snaps. "You're a two car family. Zoe can take you. Besides…I…I might be busy in the morning. Got things to do."

Oliver's eyebrows climb to the roof of the cabin. He's going to tease a little more, figures he deserves it, but Sammy appears to be losing his patience and at this rate Oliver might find himself walking to get his hot dog and go home. He nods. Tries to save face a little; "I guess she can drop me there before taking the girls to dance lessons …"

Andy chews inside her cheek. She's struggling to contain the grin. Is really, really happy that Sam seems to want to spend some more time with her tonight. She's a little nervous and cautious though, wonders what he might have on tomorrow morning…not that she's expecting –

Still. She wonders if in the _future _she'll have to talk to him about his morning habits, let him know she would like him to stick around longer than a quick kiss goodbye. She focuses on her breathing, decides that she will talk to him about it if the situation arises, for now she really shouldn't be jumping ahead of herself.

"Great," Sam interjects, his voice prissy to even his own ears. "That's settled then. Now, about that hot dog...how about this for compromise: we go to the diner near yours, I buy us all a hot dog and then take you home. See to it that Zoe tucks you in."

"And then you drop McNally off..." Oliver practically sing-songs.

Sam sticks his tongue inside his cheek. He's got a read on the situation now. Ollie may be tipsy, but his buddy knows exactly what's going through Sam's head.

"And then we all get a good night's sleep," Andy blurts out, her cheeks on fire as she tries to prevent Oliver finishing his sentence.

Sam looks over at her, hiding a small smile as one eyebrow goes up. He thinks McNally wants to do some more talking before she sleeps, hoped she wanted a kiss goodnight ...or not to have to say goodnight at all, but he probably shouldn't presume.

She doesn't really help to clear up his curiosity either, the eyebrow she angles back at him is more the kind that suggests she just wants him to drive.

* * *

By the time Sam pulls up near the diner, he's well and truly in need of more air.

Between McNally fidgeting beside him and Oliver humming_ When I'm With You_ in the back, he's not sure how much he can take. He practically jumps out the door.

He's a few paces around the front of the vehicle when the other two step out; the opening and closing of doors loud against an otherwise quiet night.

"Should you be walking?" Andy asks, holding on to one of Oliver's sleeves. He's still tripping over his feet a little, and she's worried he might fall over again.

Oliver looks down at the hand Andy has on his elbow and gets a glint in his eye. "Aw, that's sweet, McNally. Thank you for your concerns over my safety." He points a finger at her hand. "But I think Sammy wants that."

Andy rolls her eyes. She can't help but giggle though, the butterflies in her stomach still hard at work every time she even thinks about the fact that she's allowed to touch Sam again...wherever and whenever she wants...

She feels her hand being plucked off Oliver's arm. "He's right," Sam tells her, tugging her closer to him. "Besides. I wouldn't mind seeing him fall on his ass again right about now."

* * *

Somehow the three manage to get inside the diner without any major incidents –

Sam on a mission to get food in McNally's stomach and shut Oliver up. Oliver's main objective to put something in _his_ stomach. And Andy just wanting to keep being this close to Sam.

"My treat!" Oliver says, holding his arms up as they walk through the door.

After several minutes of silence because of the shock, Sam manages a few words. "Twice in one night?"

Oliver grins. "Consider it payment for the ride. Now you kids go find us a booth. I'll get us the dogs."

* * *

Andy all of a sudden feels like a fourteen year old; out on her first date...being chaperoned by her cop father...

"No smoochin' though," Oliver calls out over his shoulder. "This place is PG."

Andy giggles a little as she watches Sam roll his eyes. Soon enough he's tugging her toward a 4-seater right near the window though, collecting napkins and condiments along the way.

Andy slides into the seat first, Sam nestling in close beside her as soon as she's settled.

They sit side-by-side, waiting. The pair of them wearing small smiles as they watch Oliver give animated instructions to the bored waitress who is taking his order.

"Maybe we should do a runner," Sam mutters. "Leave him here. Let him have all the damn hot dogs he wants." He's got one hand on the table, the other is under it on Andy's thigh. He skims his fingers down to her knee as he talks, squeezes gently –

The gesture is definitely the most intimate one between them in the past eight months, Andy is sure her heart just skipped a beat.

She turns her face in his direction, catches him looking at her. He doesn't bother averting his eyes though, just keeps staring...

* * *

Sam is really, really done with just looking at McNally and holding her hand. He's generally a patient guy, but this is torture. Touching her has just made it worse. He just wants to kiss her, try and sum up some of the things he hasn't yet said...

When she smiles at him he takes his chance. Thinks 'to hell with Shaw's rules'. It's not like he's going to maul the woman in public, he'll just get his mouth on hers, kiss her quick and light, because he's missed doing just that. And she's right there, has got her hand on top of his again, and she's watching his mouth. He slides the arm he's got on top of the table in her direction and leans in –

"No smoochin', I said," Oliver bellows, goofy grin on his face as he puts two giant hotdogs in front of Andy and Sam. "Got the rest of your lives to do that," he explains, sliding into the bench seat across from them.

* * *

Andy jumps a little at the interruption. She was pretty sure Sam was going to kiss her just then. And it didn't need to be a big thing, but she was looking forward to it nevertheless. Was hopeful that it would relieve this...tension...that seems to be continuing to build up.

She looks at the tray in front of Oliver. He's bought himself two hotdogs and two lemonades. Right about now she could use a cold drink herself.

Oliver slides one of the cups over in the direction of Andy. "Figured you two could share a drink, I ran out of cash."

"Oh yeah?" Sam enquires casually, lifting his arm out from underneath the table so he can put it around Andy's shoulder. "You couldn't sacrifice one of your hotdogs?"

Shaw shakes his head, takes a mouthful of bun and comes up with mustard all over his mouth. "Stop whining, start eating, Sammy. We don't wanna be here debating this stuff for the rest of the night."

"Got that right," Sam murmurs, fingers finding their way into McNally's hair. In fact he'd be happy to trash his hot dog right now and get back on the road –

But Andy's already started hers, a few huge mouthfuls that match Oliver's stroke for stroke and she's halfway through.

Sam looks on fondly as she washes some of the food down with a large slurp of lemonade and then slides the cup over to him. He smiles and takes a sip, takes a bite of his hotdog and puts it back down on the table; decides to save the rest in case McNally is still hungry after she's finished with hers.

"You two should come for dinner at our place one night," Oliver suggests as they're finishing up. "We didn't get to do that...before."

Andy feels her heart rate pick up again, thoughts of double dates and couple type things making her feel both anxious and excited at the same time.

"Always with the food, Oliver," Sam says, grinning as he stacks up their empties on the tray. He looks over at Andy, checking in. "Can't speak for McNally. But yeah...sounds good to me."

Andy breathes out quietly, smiles at both men. "I'd really love that."

* * *

The drive to the Shaw home is quiet in comparison to the rest of the night. Mainly because a full stomach seems to have tipped Oliver over the edge and he's now fast asleep.

"Great," Sam says, disbelieving as he pulls up to the kerb. "Gonna have to carry him inside."

Andy bites down a grin and a giggle, gets out of the truck and opens the door, helping Sam to unbuckle their colleague and gently shake him awake.

* * *

Oliver wakes with a loud snore, mumbling incoherently something about 'young love' and 'doing his part'.

"Okay, buddy," Sam drawls, nudging one of his shoulders underneath Oliver's armpit and half-lifting him out of the truck.

Andy gives herself a moment to take in the scene; _Brothers in Arms_. She smiles small. She already knows how deft Sam is with lifting some weight...has carried her to certain places more times than she can count –

Still. Oliver is a little chunkier than she is.

She steps in, gets underneath Oliver's other arm, providing enough balance to help with getting him up the stairs to the door of the house. Sam glances her way once or twice. He doesn't say it, but she reads the expression on his face; knows he knows she's had some practice with moving inebriated people about.

"You guys are the best," Oliver yawns, finally propped up straight without assistance. He smacks away Sam's hand which is making an attempt to search for Oliver's keys. "I got 'em, I got 'em," he huffs, although clearly he hasn't.

It's while he's searching another pocket that the front door opens, Zoe standing there with her arms crossed but a small smile on her face. She laughs a little, raises one hand and dangles what Andy assumes to be the things Oliver is currently looking for. "Texted you earlier about this, honey. You gave your house key to Izzy yesterday, remember?" She smiles at Sam and Andy, shaking her head. "He'd forget his head if it wasn't screwed on."

"Hey, Zoe." Sam greets Oliver's wife with a smile. "I, uh. I'm sorry if we've woken you up."

Zoe smiles, rubs at Sam's shoulder. "Not your fault my husband's a lightweight."

Andy remembers she's got Oliver's car keys in her pocket, reaches in and pulls them out to hand them to Zoe. "Hope you don't mind…we left his car at the Penny…"

Zoe looks over at Andy and nods. "Hi Andy...uh...that's…that's more than fine. Hey. You two want to come in for a coffee or something? It's the least I can do..." She looks back at Sam. "Making sure he got home in one piece. Thank you."

Sam would any other time, figures it's polite to accept offers from Zoe when she extends them. He glances at Andy, hopeful that she sends him a sign that the right answer is 'no'. He's greeted with her very best deer in headlights expression –

Sam clears his throat to answer, nudges Oliver further inside the door. "Thanks for the offer, Zoe. But. We'll, uh...let you put this one to bed. It's been a big day for us all..."

Zoe nods, smiling, taking Oliver by the hand. "Maybe some other time..."

"They're coming for dinner," Oliver announces, more awake as he leans in and gives Zoe a kiss on the cheek. He pulls his head back realizing that should have been a question. "Uh...would that be okay, sweetheart?"

"Of course," Zoe replies nodding. "I'll check our calendar tomorrow, send this one to work with a note next shift that he's on," she tilts her head at Oliver and gives Andy a wink.

Andy smiles back; pleased that this encounter with Zoe is one where the Shaw's seem to be in a much happier place. "I'll make sure he passes it on, Zoe. I really look forward to it."

The two women exchange another smile before Zoe reaches around Oliver's back, starts steering him to where she wants. "Me too..." she turns to Sam. "Thanks again, Sam. Enjoy the rest of your night."

* * *

Zoe waits until Sam and Andy have walked down the stairs before she makes a move to go inside. She leaves the porch light on as she watches Sam open the passenger side door, observes his face and gestures as he helps Andy up into the cabin. She smiles small and lifts her hand in reply to a final wave he gives.

Andy is the woman Oliver has been spruiking as 'the one' for Sam for a while...she followed the progress with some eye rolling when she heard they split up. As she watches them drive off now, she actually feels really happy for Sam, hopes for his sake that _he_ is happy...and this time it's for keeps.

* * *

It's _quiet_ in the truck when they get going again. It's the first time they've been alone-alone together since the locker-room and discussions about wanting to be more than friends and trying again and rules...

Andy puts her hands under her thighs to stop herself from fidgeting. She has no idea what's going to happen next...how the rest of the night will pan out. She sucks in her lip trying to think of the best thing to say in the moment. She knows what she wants...but she's feeling a little shy about...saying it. And she knows they're meant to be talking...it's just...she's feeling exhausted; physically and emotionally. She doesn't want to put anything out there that might get rejected –

"Ollie and Zoe...they're in a better place now, huh?" is what she comes out with instead.

Sam looks over at her and smiles. He nods, caught up in his thoughts about how things have changed for his friend...how things are changing for himself. He doesn't want to rush anything with McNally, doesn't want to do anything wrong or stupid, doesn't want to make mistakes before they even have a chance to get started again. "They're working at it every day, or so Oliver says."

Andy nods. "Yeah," she replies quietly. She smiles. "Gives you the sermons too, huh?"

Sam laughs a little. "Wouldn't be Ollie if he didn't." He clears his throat in an effort to clear his mind, considers asking McNally whether she just wants to be taken home, walked to her door. Or whether she might want to make plans for that drink he still hasn't managed to buy for her. She's got to be exhausted; it's been a huge day. He is as well. But, he really can't get over this feeling; he wants to be with her...doesn't even care if that just means she falls asleep in his arms.

He breathes deeply. He's going to have to come out with...something...they're not that far from her place now and he wants to know what he's up against. (Going home to bed alone feels like the worst thing in the world). "I still didn't get you that drink," he says quietly. The words feel like they came out of no place, he doesn't even know why he said them out loud.

* * *

Andy's head whips around. She scans Sam's face as best she can in the dark of the cabin. Furrows her brow. If he's suggesting they go for the drink now...well. She's just really tired. She'll do it, because if he asks, she doesn't want to say no...but she doesn't really like the thought of them being back in some crowded bar. "I..." she squeaks. "It can wait until tomorrow night...or the night after," she says a little breathlessly. "I mean...we're not in any hurry, right?"

Sam keeps his eyes on the road, blinks a couple of times. Not in any hurry. No. She's right. Of course she wants to take it slow. They're still figuring this thing out. Still. They've got to start _some place_. He wants to keep talking and listening and –

"But, I mean. If you asked me. I would go...we can...if you want...we can go to that bar that's a block from me...tonight...or...whenever you think..." Andy's words come out in a rush. Sam looked disappointed with her response before, and she wants to make sure that he knows it's not the 'having the drink with him' that's the problem, it's just that it's late and she really wanted them to – "or you can come up with me when you drop me home...we can have a drink there..."

It's Sam's turn to whip around now. In fact, the truck almost swerves. "You want me to come up?"

"Do you wanna come up?" She counters. "You don't have to...I mean...you're probably really tired too...and..."

Sam shakes his head, laughs through a cough. He smiles at her crookedly. "I thought you might be...I..." He stops himself from talking in circles. Decides enough is enough. Figures this is his chance, she's opening another door…the next 'round' has begun. He blows out a breath. "Yeah...I'd like to come up."

Andy grins, a little on the shy side, but her whole face is lit up. "You wanna come up tonight?"

Sam nods back, quicker than he normally would. No hiding how eager he is. "Yeah. Yeah. I do."

She grins some more, even brighter if that is possible. "And we can talk some more...maybe...maybe make plans for, um...some time when I do actually let you buy me that drink?"

There's something in the way that she asks the question that fills the truck with a whole new level of anticipation. Sam can't stop thinking about all the drinks he wants to buy for her. So many drinks there is not enough time –

It's when he sees the Seven Eleven that he decides he's going to start now... _right now._ He manages to flip on the turn signal just before he veers into a parking lot and pulls into a spot right in front of well-lit building.

When he turns off the ignition, Andy looks out at the store and back over at Sam - and then at the store again. She starts to giggle a little, "I don't mean to be high maintenance or anything, but I was kind of hoping you meant more than a slurpee."

She's teasing… sort of. She knows he's not proposing that; at least she doesn't think he is. But either way, whatever drink they decide on, she wants it to be special. If they're going to start this, she wants to do it right. Give it the due it deserves.

Sam tucks his tongue into his cheek, but doesn't say a word. He just shakes his head and jogs around the front of the truck, letting the grin break free about half way around.

When he opens the passenger door, Andy's mouth is opening and closing and she actually scratches at her head. Sam starts to chuckle, loves being the one to throw her off guard for a change. He holds his hand out in front of her and waits.

Andy furrows her brow but doesn't make any move to take his lead. "Sam, what are we doing here?"

Sam smiles, doesn't answer, just reaches across and clicks open her seat belt. He can feel her watching him as he leans in. When he looks down at her, he realizes just how close they are right now.

His eyes dip down to her lips of their own accord; he swallows hard when her tongue peeks out to wet them.

Her voice cracks a little when she squeaks out a question. "A-are you sure this is what you want?" She'd really just like to go home and talk… and maybe not talk a little too.

"Yeah…this is what I want." Sam's voice is soft but the conviction is strong, and with the way he's looking at her, Andy knows for certain that it`s not _all_ about what they'll find behind the doors in front of her.

She shivers. It has nothing to do with the cool night air but entirely to do with Sam's breath across her cheek and the possibility of… everything. And she wants it all… whatever he's offering. She's ready to just reach out and hold on tight and let him lead the way.

She looks up to Sam with a ready smile and he looks content, happy… and is that a little…smug. She'll go anywhere with him, but her eyebrow has a mind of its own, immediately tips up in challenge. "You gonna make it worth my while?"

Sam clears his throat, can think of a lot of things he might be able to do to make it worthwhile but not one of them is appropriate for the occasion… location, wonders what she might… "What did you have in mind?"

Andy drops her eyes before looking back up at Sam from under her lashes, there's just a faint tinge of pink on her cheeks. "I'm just saying…" she shrugs a little, tilts her head to the side in question. "I mean, Oliver's not here anymore and…"

Sam realizes very quickly what she's getting at. They've been interrupted all night, more than once by the man she just mentioned. And right now there is no one there that is going to stop him from doing what he's wanted to do all night.

Certainly not Andy because she's already started closing the distance between them and Sam is more than willing to meet her halfway. Wants nothing more than to get his lips on her for the first time in… forever.

Sam leans in the last couple of centimetres, kisses her soft and slow, once, twice, three times. He doesn't think he could've possibly missed her as much as he did, but the kiss…her lips…her breath…her…everything. As soon as his mouth is on hers…yeah, he never, ever, wants to miss her again.

He hears her sigh in contentment, isn't completely certain that he doesn't sigh a little himself. But… he has to…

Reluctantly he lifts his body away from hers. He just has to. They can't…he can't…he needs to follow through on his idea. If all goes according to plan, they'll have all the time in the world to…do everything…anything they want to do.

He feels her body move with him and it makes him smile. When she groans because she can't seem to catch up to him, he laughs out loud. "Come on," he urges, reaching for her hand. "I didn't bring you here to make out in the parking lot."

"Oh no..." she wonders in mock disbelief, "You mean this isn't your big make out spot? You don't bring all the girls here."

"Well…" Sam purses his lips, quirks his eyebrow a little. "…not since high school anyway."

Andy laughs loud at that, can just imagine teenage Sam Swarek trying to impress the ladies with a Super Big Gulp.

Her laugh chokes off almost immediately; she shakes her head, wants to get _that_ thought out of it right now. "So if you didn't bring me here to make out with me… and I mean I already invited you up to my place so..."

Sam pulls Andy up out of her seat and lets her tumble straight into his chest. He leans in and kisses her once more. "Trust me." He keeps tight hold of her hand, intertwines their fingers as he steers her towards the door.

When he ushers her through, the only people in there are a bored store clerk and two guys in hoodies lurking by the coolers. They both jump when the bell over the door rings, but skulk back into the corner when they see the couple enter. One of them has his hands shoved deep into the pocket of his jacket; the other is practically vibrating.

Andy eyes Sam warily, doesn't say a word. He looks from her over to the two guys in the corner again, blows out a slow breath. He's got his service weapon in the truck; didn't want to take it into the community centre. Kind of wishes he might have tucked it into his waistband when they went to the Penny.

He purses his lips, hopes that maybe just their presence might put a damper into whatever plans these two may have. That and… Sam walks purposefully towards them. He feels Andy stiffen beside him, gives her hand a quick squeeze.

When they're a couple of steps away, Sam notices that one of them looks a little worse for wear…black eye, busted lip. He's just a kid and he looks away when he notices Sam's scrutiny; the other boy, a little older, steps out in front of him, almost protective.

"Do you mind?" Sam greets, tipping his chin towards the refrigerated section behind them.

"Not at all," the older one answers, edges the other out of the way so Sam can see past him.

Sam is just nodding his thanks when the door slams open against the bell. He jumps at the sound, immediately pulls Andy in behind him; if anyone…

He shakes his head. Not going to happen.

He checks on the kids that were just beside them; they look like they're about to wet themselves and Sam is cursing the universe, wonders what kind of trouble they might have gotten themselves into.

He feels Andy peeking out from behind him. He's about to tug her back in when he hears a giggle escape her lips. He looks up at the door, smirks a little himself as she ducks her head into his chest and he just... He can smell her shampoo and _her_…God, he just really likes having her there.

Sam tucks a hand around her head and pulls her in even closer, drops a kiss on the top of it. He nods at the lady at the door, who returns it curtly before turning to the two boys beside them. "Terrance, Curtis... in the car NOW."

The two boys scramble as quickly as they can and run out the door with who Sam and Andy assume is a none too pleased mother.

Sam can feel Andy still chuckling against his body and when she looks up, her cheeks are pink and her eyes are shining. She slides her arm around Sam and stares up at him with those big doe eyes of hers. Even dares to bat her eyelashes at him a few times.

"If you keep looking at me like that…" Sam shakes his head, blows out a long, slow breath. He drops his chin down to kiss her once more before he turns her around to face the selection in front of them.

He does a silent and cursory glance across one single shelf. There's not a whole lot in terms of brand variation, but at least they have one of each type.

She looks at him and then back at the bottles, her eyes widen as she realizes where they've stopped. "Sam?" Her heart is racing a little as she recalls an early morning conversation when things were stupid… and complicated… and perfect…

Sam's heart is beating out of his chest too. He can see that she's right there with him, back in that loft, when they were stupid… and careless… and deliriously happy. And he just knows… _knows _that he wants to be there with her… when it matters… when it doesn't… when…ever.

So when he thinks about having that drink and granting themselves this chance to move forward, this is the only way that makes sense. The chance that she gave him first time around…the first time everything in Sam's world felt utterly…right. He sucks in a shaky breath, exhales out…

"Grapefruit or Cranberry?"

Andy can't speak… she's just… her eyes are tearing up and the lump in her throat… she just can't believe that he would… it's the perfect choice…_ he's _perfect…

And she knows she'll do whatever he wants, but she kind of hopes he means for them to drink it later…much later…as in tomorrow morning. But as long as he comes home with her, she'll take whatever she can get because she knows that there is a tomorrow and the next day and…

Sam's watching her, taking in every emotion that crosses her face and he just… "Andy, what do _you_ want?"

_You._ It's at the tip of her tongue. She'll even drink the grapefruit if it means she has him. But she doesn't say it, really doesn't have to because he can see it… and feel it.

He reaches past her, tugs on the door and pulls out a well-recognized jug… because he knows her, knows what she likes… what he wants to give her… and that's everything she wants…

"Orange," he announces, holding the thing up like it's the championship belt.

Andy smiles a watery smile, finally finds her voice. It's a little breathless but… she has _no_ doubt, doubts she will ever again… "I love you."

* * *

Sam blinks a couple of times, swallows once or twice, and his smile is well on its way to watery too. He doesn't even know if he can form the words, but there is no way he is not going to try. He takes a step, slides a hand around her back to pull her in close, gets his lips right up against hers. "I love y…"

Andy jumps a bit as a throat clears behind them. Sam rolls his eyes but steps back a little, lets his hand drop from her back but just enough to grip her hand.

He offers a quick apology to the scowling woman as a blushing Andy starts tugging him towards the checkout –

Sam stops up short.

Andy turns back confused; they really needed to get out of there. He needs to get her home and….

Well. What else could…

Sam takes a deep breath, tugs her back in his direction. He bends his knees a little, until his eyes are level with hers. "I want… more."

"O-kay," Andy agrees. He's already taken her breath to the point she can't think…or argue… The word 'more' spins around in her head a few times leaving her giddy. She can do nothing but stare at his back, let herself get tugged along behind him as he heads to another refrigerated section.

She watches on with foggy, wet eyes as he pulls out some eggs and cheese and bacon.

_And she knows he told Oliver he'd be busy in the morning, but he was buying… those were for breakfast… and surely he wouldn't… he said he wanted to come over… would he… did he…_ Andy swallows hard. She feels like a dozen boiled eggs were just stuck in her throat. "Is that for… um… are you going to…"

Sam looks around, takes a couple of steps to the end of the counter and sets the items down before he takes both of Andy's hands in his. She can see that he's swallowing at some lumps as well. And when his mouth opens…when he clears his throat…Andy's whole world stands perfectly still -

"Andy….I want you to ask me to _stay_."

His eyes are the warmest, darkest and most beautiful things. And every feature of his face is softer than she's seen ever before. Andy opens her mouth to…do something…she's not even sure what.

Sam shakes his head, urging her to understand. "I'm not expecting anything; I just… I want to wake up with you… have breakfast with you."

_(…every day for the rest of my life). _

"You _want_ to stay?" She doesn't mean to sound surprised, but she is. It's not that she didn't want him to, or that she hadn't been hoping for exactly that, but she just wasn't sure _he_ was ready yet.

Sam squeezes her hands, looks straight into her eyes; wants her to see exactly how _much_ he wants that -

"I do."

Andy's done with talking. Everything that's been said…is already enough…at least for one day –

She uses her hands to pull him closer. Waits until his chest bumps into hers. She tucks his hands behind her back before she slides her own up his arms and around his shoulders…

She tilts her face and smiles small, lets him see the tears in her eyes. And then she pushes up to her toes, just enough.

"Stay," she whispers right against his lips before she presses hers against them.

She wishes she could keep her eyes both open and closed at the same time. Wishes she could_ see_ what she feels…the way his whole body relaxed, right before his hands went lower and lifted her an inch off the ground. The kiss is softer, warmer, happier, and more persistent than ever before. His mouth is careful and gentle, but determined too. It's not just six or eight months of waiting pouring out in this moment…it feels like a lifetime of relief.

She could stay right here for a long, long time, under neon lights and a heating system that blows without any warm air. Stay with the background noise of the store clerk popping gum that punctuates some 80's ballad sung by Celine Dion. Andy will stay if it means this is where Sam's going to be –

* * *

Sam squeezes tightly, wants to hold this moment as long as he can. It feels like it's taken a lifetime to get here, and in a way…it really has. He loves this woman more than one kiss or bottle of juice could ever show, and there will never be enough bacon and eggs in the world. He just wants to try and show her that he means what he says –

He wants to kiss her, hold her, have her, and let her have him, and never let go. The concepts of wrong time and wrong place don't even enter his mind. Well, not until he hears a sound that isn't coming from either of them –

He's not sure how long he's been wrapped up with Andy before they hear a cough from somewhere beside them. He slides McNally back down to the ground gently, tucks her in under an arm and wraps her into his chest.

He looks up to see the cashier sliding his items down the counter. The woman is staring unabashedly at them, her hands on auto-pilot as she reaches out to the eggs.

"Do you have everything?" she inquires awkwardly, chewing loudly around something blue in her mouth.

Andy's still tucked in against Sam's chest. He drops his eyes down to catch hers. Smiles a little when he sees her eyes gazing back. He chews into his bottom lip, considers what could be possibly missing. He's no expert when it comes to breakfast dates, but they've got a good start with all that they have. Only then he remembers there's something else they're probably going to need, especially if they stay up talking all night. "You have coffee right?"

Andy nods, still a little breathless from the kiss. Right now she can't think clearly about contents of her pantry, but coffee is not something she tends to forget to keep in plentiful stock. She wishes she were more coherent though, because she'd like to be able to discuss purchasing supplies for lunch and dinner as well (for the next forty years).

Sam nods once, definitive. So, they've got breakfast covered…only then he realizes there_ is_ something else missing. He spots the solution to his problem out of the corner of his eye. "We'll take this too," he tells the cashier as he picks up a newspaper and lays it on the counter.

Andy frowns. "You don't need that; I already get the Sun." Only then things start to dawn on her…other morning routines of times in the past…

Sam shrugs, purses his lips. "I like the Globe and Mail."

_Of course he does_. Andy just grins up at the lady. "I think we've got everything we need now."

* * *

Sam tucks his debit card back in his wallet as they're headed out the door, slides his free hand into hers.

"You know it would have been a lot cheaper at the grocery store," Andy rebukes, almost skipping as she swings their arms between them.

"Oh yeah?" Sam shoots back, rolling his eyes. "Gonna tell me I should've bought the turkey bacon too."

"It _is_ better for you," she practically sings, silly grin on her face as she steadfastly keeps her eye on his.

Sam shakes his head but the smile is not far behind. He's pretty sure he could spend the next forty years or so fighting with her about bacon… papers… yoga… whatever.

He tugs on her hand, spins her in close as they get to the truck. He tucks her in between his chest and the door. He feels her body relax instantly, takes a deep breath as her hands find their way up to his shoulders again. He watches her face as her smile turns from mischievous to…happy, and then he smiles back –

He thinks of her out there in the ring tonight, the way she fought, the way she adapted to every challenge that was thrown by Cruz. How she tried to be gracious, and have fun with it at first…then stepped up to the plate. How she really listened and took advice. He thinks of how she throws her punches most of the time, makes every one count…when it matters the most.

Whenever they've been in the ring together before, they've often found it so damn hard to read one another's styles. But those bouts when they did take their time to figure it out…those were fights that Sam will never forget. They were fun and teasing, passionate and unpredictable, but enduring –

Their different, but _complementary_ styles, _made_ them that way.

Sam loves the fighter that McNally is. He loves _her_.

And as they stand here in the cool air, streetlights flickering, he knows this is _it_. He could win every purse, every title, every championship…

None of it would matter if he didn't have her.

This fight is _the_ fight. This time they are going for 10 rounds (and life). They will make it despite the blood, sweat and tears, or the times they are knocked down and out. Because he knows that they'll get back up again.

Sam knows now that it's about the fight itself, not who won or lost. So. He will keep fighting. And so will she.

She hasn't taken her eyes off his in the silence, just waits and reaches up to stroke at his cheek. She doesn't look scared or worried, only curious…and maybe excited at what he has to say next.

Sam mirrors her gesture, puts a careful hand on her cheek; rubs a thumb under her eye. He leans in slowly, gives her nose the slightest nudge with his. He keeps his mouth moving though, kisses her cheek, her lips, then moves it across to her ear to tell her very seriously:

"_Nothing_ is better than **_this_**."

* * *

_The End._


End file.
